Sunderland suffered their third straight defeat in all competitions on Saturday, as they were beaten 2-1 by the MK Dons at the Stadium of Light. 

Max Power gave the Black Cats the lead on the day, before former Norwich City forward Cameron Jerome equalised for the visitors shortly after Power's opener.

Scott Fraser then put MK Dons in front on the day from the penalty spot just two minutes into the second-half. Sunderland pushed for a much-needed equaliser from then on, but were unable to find a breakthrough against a resilient MK Dons defence.

Will Grigg was guilty of missing Sunderland's best chance to equalise, as the forward failed to connect with a cross from a yard out as the hosts fell to another defeat, which means they are now sixth in the League One table.

Grigg has struggled to recapture his best form in recent seasons, and only scored three goals in 27 appearances last term, whilst failing to find the back of the net so far in this year's campaign.

Speaking in a post-match press conference (quotes sourced from the Sunderland Echo) after the defeat to the MK Dons, Parkinson praised Grigg for his performance on the day and was impressed by his physical condition after his previous injury struggles.

The Sunderland boss also revealed that Grigg apologised for his costly miss, which saw Sunderland miss out on a point at the Stadium of Light.

"Firstly, he worked his socks off for the team. He needed the game [against Mansfield] last week.

"There had been a couple of times where he was going to play but had just picked up little niggles. Physically I thought he was better today than he was last week.

"He knows it was a bad miss. He is the first one to hold his hand up in the dressing room because he knows those chances have to be made to count."

Grigg and his Sunderland team-mates are set to return to action next weekend, when they take on Doncaster Rovers, in what is likely to be a tough test for Phil Parkinson's side.

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The Verdict: 

They're both under pressure to turnaround their poor run of form.

Grigg's miss was a costly one, as Sunderland came away with nothing to show for their efforts against the MK Dons at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.

His form hasn't been good enough for one reason or another, but I think he'll get back to his best once he can find that much-needed goal for the Black Cats.

Whether that will be under Parkinson's management remains to be seen though, as I think his days in charge of the club are numbered, especially if their poor run of form is to continue.