Martin O'Neill 'takes heart' from second-half performance

Sunderland boss Martin O'Neill has taken the positives from this afternoon's 1-0 defeat to Manchester United.

Titus Bramble's own goal 27 minutes in was enough for the Red Devils to claim maximum points at the Stadium of Light, but O'Neill believes that his team can reflect positively on their second-half performance.

"Manchester United are the best team in the league and we gave them too much time and space in the first half, but we put a really big effort in during the second half and it bodes well," O'Neill told BBC Sport.

"Confidence is a major thing and the players should take a great deal of heart from the second-half performance. We have to put things right now."

The Black Cats remain three points above the Premier League drop zone.