HOW apposite that Sunderland, who expected to turn the Stadium of Light into a ground where opponents fear to tread, should have the notion dispelled by Millwall.

For while The New Den might not hold the same menace as their old Cold Blow Lane venue, hostility and Millwall are long-standing bedfellows.

On Saturday, however, the Stadium of Light and intimidation went together like peaches and creosote.

When Sunderland stated their case for promotion in pre-season, the Stadium of Light factor and the passion of their support figured high on their list of arguments.

But the fans that rattled round the grand arena on the banks of the River Wear at the weekend were almost outnumbered by the empty seats.

Around 23,000 of those contributed to an eerie atmosphere in which Sunderland delivered the sort of anaemic display that has become the norm.

It was almost inconceivable that less than four months ago, more than 45,000 people crammed into the same stadium to witness a raucous Wear-Tyne derby in which the home team did not take a backward step.

"We have to try to get back to the old days and make this place a fortress again," Paul Thirlwell said.

It was a noble sentiment, but on the back of Sunderland's performance they were empty words.

How are anyone, let alone a Millwall team captained by the irascible Dennis Wise, going to be scared by the prospect of playing at a half-empty Stadium of Light?

As Thirlwell conceded: "With us having just come down from the Premiership, and with the stadium we've got, everyone will want to play here.

"They'll look at our record from last year and this year, and it's not what it once was here."

Boos rang round the stadium at half-time and then again after 56 minutes, when another Sunderland attack foundered on Millwall's resolute defence.

The supporters' anger was obvious well before then, however, as their team's unease was matched by the discontent in the stands. Thirlwell said: "Edginess and nervousness among fans might translate to the players, but they don't come here wanting to be edgy and the players don't want to be edgy.

"We want to put on a show. There haven't been many of those recently but we have to try to improve.

"It's extremely hard for everybody to keep their spirits up. We all want to head in the right direction, but we're in a spell at the moment where we can't seem to string a few wins together."

The only thing that Sunderland are stringing together is league defeats - 17 and counting - and Millwall manager Mark McGhee's kind words in victory did not ease the pain of the vanquished.

At least McGhee wore a huge grin when he said: "There are a lot worse teams than Sunderland in this division - like us, for instance."

He added: "You need goals in your team because there are definitely goals to be had in this division. You need pace and quality.

"I can see all those things in the Sunderland squad. Mick McCarthy hasn't brought it out of them yet, but he will."

McCarthy even brought up the spectre of relegation in the aftermath of Saturday's disheartening defeat, although it owed much to his desire to rouse his team from their slumber.

"If you've got six points at the moment, people talk about promotion; if you've got no points, people start talking about relegation," he said.

"We'll get better, that's for sure, but we have to realise it's a hell of a scrap.

"It was never going to be easy, but maybe talking about relegation is the shock tactic for all of us."

Sunderland were always playing catch-up once former Middlesbrough striker Noel Whelan had scored in the sixth minute following a scramble.

Sean Thornton went close from a couple of free-kicks, but despite dominating possession in the second half Sunderland never looked like equalising.

Result: Sunderland 0 Millwall 1.

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