Steve Bruce disappointed with Titus Bramble

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has spoken of his disappointment with defender Titus Bramble after the defender was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and possession of a Class A drug.

Bramble, 30, has since been released on bail and Sunderland have suspended the defender "pending the outcome of a club investigation".

Bruce added that Bramble's performance in Monday's defeat to Norwich was poor and that he shouldn't have been out clubbing so soon.

He said: "There's a police investigation going on into Titus and obviously I'm restricted in what I can say, but for me, the big disappointment is he shouldn't have been there in the first place.

"With the rewards footballers get, they have a responsibility, a moral responsibility, and I don't think footballers should be in nightclubs on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, especially after you have just been beaten - and how badly he had performed against Norwich as well.

"If it was me, I would be locking myself away for 24, 48 hours and burying my head and making sure when training comes around, that I'm going to go and perform better than I did on Monday night."

Sunderland, who have won only one league game this season and currently sit 14th in the table, host struggling West Brom on Saturday.