Paolo Di Canio: "Negative energy" is affecting our play

Sunderland boss Paolo Di Canio has revealed that "negative energy" around the club is affecting his players' performances on the pitch.

The Black Cats fell to their fourth defeat of the season when they lost 3-0 to West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns.

Di Canio told BBC Sport: "I don't want to make excuses but the negative energy doesn't give us chance to score.

"There's an upset atmosphere because we're still at the bottom and when you're in front of goal you're not confident, you're not striking the ball at the top corner, you're hitting the opponents legs like they did today.

Sunderland are bottom of the Premier League after taking just one point from their opening five games.