Sunderland defender John O'Shea has insisted that playing well counts for nothing if the team do not turn those performances into victories.

The Black Cats are yet to win a game this season and as a result sit at the bottom of the Premier League table.

The North-East outfit were praised for their performance against Liverpool last Sunday, but still succumbed to a 3-1 defeat in temporary boss Kevin Ball's first league game in charge

"The positives don't count for anything," the Sunderland Echo quotes O'Shea as saying. "Believe me, anyone in the dressing room would rather play terrible and win the games 1-0.

"We have to get away from moral victories when we have done okay or done this and done that. We have to stand up and take responsibility, make sure we get clean sheets and go ahead in games."

Sunderland will try to grab their first win of the season when they take on Manchester United this weekend.