Michael Beale said his first match in charge of Sunderland “couldn’t have gone any worse” after seeing his new side humbled 3-0 at home by Coventry.
The former Rangers and QPR boss was appointed as Tony Mowbray’s permanent successor at the start of the week but saw his team finish well beaten on home soil following goals from Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, Callum O’Hare and Kasey Palmer.
Beale was also forced to listen to a significant section of the home support at the Stadium of Light chanting his predecessor’s name during the defeat.
He said: “Today couldn’t have gone any worse, let’s be honest about it. We have to apologise to our fans and we have to respond in a couple of days’ time.
“He (Mowbray) did a good job here, and I have no issue with the fans showing their affection towards him because he was a man who they were fond of and he did a good job.
“Ultimately, that’s now gone and we need to look forward. The team needs to get better results than it did today.
“Consistency has maybe been a bit of an issue for the group. That’s our 10th game that we’ve lost this season in 23, and we’ve won 10. So, at the halfway stage of the campaign, we have to decide what team we’re going to be moving forward. We certainly can’t let in three goals a game, that’s for sure.”
Mark Robins, meanwhile, feels his Coventry side have put themselves into a great position to be able to attack the second half of the season after moving to within six points of the Championship play-off places.
Coventry started the campaign slowly, having lost two of last season’s star players, Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer, in the summer transfer window.
A number of signings have gradually bedded in, with the win at the Stadium of Light meaning Robins’ side have now lost just one of their last eight matches.
Robins said: “We lost two brilliant players in the summer, and had a turnover of 25 players. Fourteen players left the club, and 11 came in.
“You’re starting again, and that’s frustrating. It can be frustrating for everyone, but we brought quality in, we know that, it just takes time.
“If you bring in players from abroad who haven’t experienced the Championship before, it can take a while for them to get used to the intensity and the quality of the league.
“It may have surprised one or two, but now, I think they’re starting to see what it’s like and the places you’ve got to come to. The noise in this stadium today was fantastic, so the fact we’ve done what we’ve done shows there’s a bit of growth there going on.
“We can look forward to the second half of the season, although I think this division this year is probably harder than it’s been for a long time because of the teams that are in there and the fact that people have strengthened.”
Southampton 3-1 West Brom (3-1 agg): Saints set up play-off final with Leeds United
Southampton saw off West Brom 3-1 at St Mary's on Friday to set up a Championship play-off final showdown with Leeds United.
Leeds thumped Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road 24 hours earlier to book their place at Wembley, where Southampton now await on May 26.
The first leg between the Saints and West Brom finished goalless - just like the other semi-final - but the home side's quality told in the end.
Russell Martin's side dominated the first-half possession, with David Brooks going closest to scoring with a shot that hit the outside of the post.
Southampton made the breakthrough via a powerful Will Smallbone finish four minutes into the second half after Gray Diangana lost possession.
Darnell Furlong had a shot helped over by Alex McCarthy, while David Brooks - who assisted the opener - had a strong penalty appeal rejected.
Southampton remained in control, though, and Adam Armstrong scored a second with a shot through Furlong's legs and past Alex Palmer.
Armstrong's second goal arrived from the penalty spot in the 86th minute after Tom Fellows fouled Ryan Manning in the box, rendering Cedric Kipre's late header a mere consolation.
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
Leeds' belief never wavered as Wembley beckons
Ethan Ampadu said Leeds United's players never let their belief waver despite a poor end to their Championship campaign, with a trip to Wembley now coming up.
Leeds will face either Southampton or West Brom in the play-off final on May 26 after thrashing Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road on Thursday.
The Whites endured a miserable end to their campaign, losing 4-0 at Queens Park Rangers before going down at home to Southampton on the final day, as Ipswich Town claimed automatic promotion behind Leicester City.
But after their emphatic defeat of the Canaries, who they drew with 0-0 in the first leg, Ampadu claimed Leeds never lost their way.
"Towards the end of the season there was a lot of talk about how we were playing, how we weren't on the front foot, how we weren't aggressive or clinical," he told Sky Sports.
"But we always had our belief that on our day, when we are firing, we can be hard for anyone to play against.
"When the front four, five, six play like that, they make the job of us defenders a lot easier.
"Whoever we play in the final it's going to be a hard game but to go in like this, to put in a performance like this, we can take momentum and confidence into it.
"The fans were second to none and we enjoyed their support – now we are going to prepare for the big one."
Georginio Rutter scored one and set up another in the rout, and he put the onus on Leeds to replicate the same level at Wembley.
"It's incredible. Today we go to Wembley," he said.
"We played a good game. I'm happy, everybody is happy. One more game and we will see.
"We played very good. 4-0 is a clean sheet. Today, we were mature. It's a very good performance from the team.
"I want to try my best and help the team. If we play like this [at the final], we have a good chance but we have to play like this."
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