I just watched Sunderland's worst performance of the season - here's why it was so worrying

Ahead of this game Régis Le Bris had warned his players that 'disaster' awaited if they felt they could coast towards their likely play-off tilt.

This, presumably, was pretty much exactly what he meant.

Sunderland were comprehensively outplayed, outthought and outfought by a superb Coventry City side - with a fresh injury to Dennis Cirkin only compounding a woeful afternoon for the Black Cats. Sunderland's position in the table means this does not have be a disastrous afternoon in their season or call for panic, but there is no doubt that concerns growing about the form and freshness of the squad heading into the run-in.

Sunderland had been completely outplayed in the first half, the kind of 45 where the only positive you could take was that they were still somehow just about in the contest.

There had been one or two brief positives, Eliezer Mayenda had looked dangerous and held up the ball well in the rare moments where Sunderland found him, while there was some determined last-ditch defending from Luke O'Nien in particular around his own box. There was little else to encourage, Sunderland well off the pace and beaten to just about every second ball.

Phil Smith’s player ratings after Coventry City defeat

Though they had been beaten by Derby County in midweek, Coventry had come into the game in excellent form and the contrast in intensity between the two teams was stark. One looked as if it was coasting, the other playing as if everything was on the line.

Sunderland sat off the game, too passive and inviting the hosts to dictate the game. Their passing was slack, preventing them from getting up the pitch.

An opener appeared to be only a matter of time and came when Neil lost the ball in midfield, Wright driving into space and firing an effort into the bottom corner. The visitors were struggling to deal with Wright's pace and movement, and he earned a stonewall penalty not long after when he cut inside and went down under Mepham's trailing leg. At this stage, Sunderland had registered just one shot.

Though it's something he has very rarely done in his tenure so far, it was still something of a surprise that Le Bris didn't make any changes at the break but ten minutes of more of the same at the start of the second forced his hand. Sunderland switched to a 4-4-2 and though it was no surprise that Dan Neil came off, the midfielder one of many who looked seriously fatigued throughout the game, that alan Browne was not introduced to add some bite to a midfield that had not been at the races.

To Le Bris's credit, the additional presence up front and pace in behind did spark a change in momentum, Mayenda and Wilson Isidor spurning big chances to halve the deficit.

Isidor's pace had actually forced Coventry to sit off the game a little, inviting a bit of pressure that had been non-existent through the first hour of the game. It briefly looked as if Sunderland could stage a revival, but they were then picked off on the break as Wright dinked a delicate chip over Patterson for the third.

That allowed the hosts to coast through the closing stage of the contest, an emphatic win and a scoreline that most definitely reflected their dominance.