Sunderland defender John O'Shea believes that the club's board members need to own up to past mistakes.

The North-East outfit have been plunged into relegation battles over the last three seasons.

Paolo Di Canio and Gus Poyet were sacked for their role in previous campaigns, but Dick Advocaat was given another chance after steering the Black Cats from the drop in May.

"It can't keep being the manager's fault, and we cannot continue to have such a huge turnover of players - 10 or so in, 11 out, season after season," the Sunderland Echo quotes O'Shea as saying.

"There have to be lessons learned if we're to move forward. The club has to admit there are a few things they could learn from and change."

The North-East outfit finished three points above the relegation zone in the 2014-15 season.