Sunderland boss Steve Bruce has described the pressure building around his position as 'pathetic'.
Sunderland boss feeling the heat after back-to-back defeats
Steve Bruce has described the pressure building around his position as 'pathetic' but accepts he will not change the expectations of Sunderland fans.
Despite opening the season with a respectable draw at Liverpool, back-to-back defeats to neighbours Newcastle and Championship side Brighton have soured Sunderland's start to the campaign.
Bruce has yet to lead the Black Cats to victory over the Magpies in a Wear-Tyne derby, and last season's 5-1 defeat at St James' Park saw many supporters lose faith in the manager.
Another derby defeat, this time on their own turf, has done little to inspire the fans and Bruce admits he must accept the pressure that comes with a winless start in the league and a Carling Cup second-round exit.
"It engulfs you with two results, which I find disappointing," said Bruce, whose side travel to Swansea on Saturday.
"But I have to accept it and realise that's the way it is up here and I am not going to change it.
"That's why loads of managers have probably sat here and struggled and found it difficult because of what engulfs you straight away.
"It shows you how difficult it is up here. The mass hysteria, I find some of it pathetic, to be honest.
Expectancy
"But then again, you come to expect it. It's two games (the defeats), and nobody is going to tell me in that Newcastle game that they were far better than us. They weren't.
"We made a mistake for the goal and were punished for it. I have seen the game three times over and nobody is going to tell me that we didn't deserve any better.
"We deserved to get something out of the game. That's how it was."
Bruce spent heavily on the likes of Connor Wickham, John O'Shea and Ji Dong-Won over the summer but has been restricted in using such acquisitions, with only Ji featuring as a substitute so far.
With his strikers misfiring, Bruce is under pressure to play £8million youngster Wickham, but the Sunderland boss is reluctant to throw him in at the deep end.
"When we bought Ji and we bought Connor Wickham, I was thinking of the future and over the next 18 months, two years, we know we have got a couple of really, really talented young players," he explained.
"But I need time for them to just settle in and adjust and get ready to play in the Premier League, and when they are ready, I will unleash them to play in that.
"We know we still need a bit more firepower. We have got one or two things in the fire which we hope come to fruition."
