Sunderland midfielder Liam Bridcutt has apologised to the club's travelling fans following Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Norwich City in the Premier League.
The Black Cats saw their relegation fears deepen at Carrow Road as they were comfortably beaten by the Canaries.
Gus Poyet's side are now three points adrift of safety with 10 games left to play this season.
"Of course we're disappointed with the result; it was a big game," Bridcutt told the club's official website.
"It turned out to be tougher than we expected; it was one of those days for us, nothing went our way and Norwich were at us from the get-go.
"I'm sorry for the fans who made the trip to Norwich; it's a long, long way from Sunderland and they deserved much more than that."
Sunderland continue their battle for survival on Wednesday when they travel to title challengers Liverpool.