Dick Advocaat bemoans "poor" Sunderland defeat

Sunderland boss Dick Advocaat has admitted that his side's friendly defeat to Doncaster Rovers was a "poor result".

The Black Cats were beaten 2-0 at the Keepmoat Stadium last night as they suffered their third loss in five pre-season games.

Advocaat is hopeful that his players can win their final warm-up match ahead of the new campaign on Saturday when they face Hannover in Germany.

"The fitness has to be there but it was a poor result, so hopefully on Saturday we can show how far we are with our progress when we face Hannover," he told the club's official website.

"The fans were excellent today and they came down in their numbers making a long journey to back their team for 90 minutes, so hopefully we can reward their loyal support over the course of the season."

Sunderland start the 2015-16 Premier League season with a trip to Leicester City on August 8.