Burnley manager Scott Parker was disheartened after a heavy defeat at Sunderland has gone 15 Premier League games without a win.
The Clarets failed to have a shot on target for the fourth time this season and are now 11 points from safety.
Burnley have conceded six goals in the first 10 minutes of Premier League games this season, more than any other team, and Parker was furious at their sloppiness.
He said: “We came into a tough situation tonight, we knew it and we didn’t really give ourselves a chance. The ingredients you need to come here, the real basics of the game, we didn’t really get it right.
“It surprised me. Tonight we were very short.
“I didn’t see that performance coming, certainly where we’ve come from in terms of our performances and the results we’ve had. We were nowhere near being competitive in this division.
“I don’t care who you play, if you’re going to fall where we failed in terms of lack of intention in everything we did at times – it seemed passive in every phase. For that, you’re taken care of.”
Sunderland remain unbeaten at the Stadium of Light in the Premier League this season (W12, W7, D5), making it the longest unbeaten start to a season at home in a top-flight campaign by a newly promoted side since Nottingham Forest went the entire 1977-78 campaign unbeaten at home (21 W, 15 L, 6 D).
The Black Cats are within touching distance of European football, but manager Régis Le Bris is more concerned with ensuring security.
The victory took them to 36 points.
“We had earlier set a target of around 40 points,” he said.
“It could be the case this season, maybe more, we don’t know. We are making progress. We will see as soon as possible to achieve this goal. If it is possible, we will set another one.”
