Martin O'Neill happy despite Sunderland defeat

Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill was happy with his side's "valiant" performance against Tottenham Hotspur, despite their 1-0 defeat at White Hart Lane.

After last week's winning start to his reign as Black Cats boss, Roman Pavlyuchenko's goal was enough to give O'Neill his first loss in the job.

"I thought they put in a big effort today. I'm disappointed that we lost, but it is Tottenham Hotspur and it was a real valiant effort against them," O'Neill told Sky Sports News.

"When Tottenham got their goal, perhaps their own confidence returned to them and they could have put the game beyond us soon after that.

"We know it's a tough business and we were playing against a really top side. I never thought that we were out of the game."

The Wearside club, who are 16th in the Premier League table, next travel to Queens Park Rangers on Wednesday night.