Sunderland boss Gus Poyet has admitted that he understands the decision to postpone his side's clash with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium this evening.

Greater Manchester Police called the game off one hour before kickoff due to heavy winds in the surrounding area, which were deemed dangerous to supporters.

Poyet told the club's official website: "The bottom line was the police needed to make a strong decision. There had been too many incidents around the stadium and it would have been very difficult to maintain the security in terms of the fans and the approaches to the ground.

"You can't really start delaying the kick-off with the danger of things getting worse – there were things flying around the stadium.

"We were ready to play, but we understand that people have to make a decision and we totally support that."

Sunderland are 18th in the Premier League after 25 games this season.