SKIPPER John O’Shea today admitted Sunderland cannot afford another slow start at Valley Parade on Sunday.

O’Shea was scathing of the first-half display in Tuesday’s 2-0 home loss to QPR that dumped the Black Cats back in relegation trouble.

The experienced defender said: “You can’t start a game in first gear and give a team the encouragement we gave them. No matter what position they’re in.

“I don't think we've ever started a game like that. It was just poor play from us, QPR wanted it more than us early on.

"I'm a bit surprised how badly we started the game, considering how we've been playing. We have been playing very well and hopefully that was just a little blip.

“We've got to dust ourselves down very quickly. I'm sure Bradford will enjoy when they look at the DVD of the game how we started it.”