Sunderland manager Phil Parkinson insisted his side will be ready for their clash with Ipswich Town following their first defeat in nine at the weekend. 

The Black Cats missed out on an instant return to the Championship last term, following the last minute play-off final defeat to Charlton Athletic.

Sunderland started the season slowly but have picked up form in the last few weeks, giving those connected with the club fresh promotion hopes.

A run of five wins in seven had seen the Black Cats move into the League One play-off places, but a 2-0 defeat to fellow top-six hopefuls Portsmouth at the weekend saw them drop.

The defeat ended a nine game unbeaten run and they were leapfrogged by Saturday's opponents, now sitting two points outside the League One play-off places.

Sunderland appeared to dominate the early proceedings at Fratton Park, but a first half goal from Christian Burgess and a second half strike from James Bolton meant the Black Cats had to endure the long trip home empty handed.

Speaking to the club's official media channels on Tuesday, Parkinson said: "We have got to concentrate on what we have done well in recent weeks, in the first half when we played and switched it, we looked excellent.

"We passed it well and got into some great positions. There were two penalty decisions that went against us," continued Parkinson.

On their upcoming clash with Ipswich, Parkinson added: "We have got to dust ourselves down and move onto next week, we will be ready for Ipswich Town next weekend."

The Black Cats are unbeaten in their last five games at the Stadium of Light, and with Ipswich being in very hit and miss form at the moment, Parkinson could see this as an ideally opportunity to bounce back from the Portsmouth defeat.

The Verdict

We have seen some good stuff from Sunderland in recent weeks and this defeat will no doubt be hurting Parkinson and the fans, given their side started so brightly on Saturday.

The manager appears to not be holding back on his feelings and has clearly expressed his will to bounce back when they take on fourth placed Ipswich on Saturday.

Town have only managed three wins in their last 11 league games, and have slipped from the automatic promotion places to just three points ahead of Sunderland in seventh.

A win in Saturday's clash for Sunderland would be the perfect tonic to the Portsmouth defeat and could kick-start another positive run.

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