Sbragia would never ‘embarrass’ players

when he conducted his on-field team-talk at the City of Manchester Stadium, and claimed his subtler style of man management is a more effective way of raising morale.

Brown provided one of the most memorable images of the season when, with his side trailing 4-0 to Manchester City, he prevented his players from entering the dressing room and conducted his half-time team-talk on the City of Manchester Stadium pitch.

The move appears to have backfired, as Hull have won just one Premier League game out of 13 since amid rumours of diminishing morale and dressing-room discontent.

Sbragia has made a point of adopting a far less confrontational style than his predecessor, Roy Keane, and while Sunderland’s own form has been far from impressive since the turn of the year, he remains confident that his softer approach will bring results.

“I’m never one to be critical of another manager, but I would never do what he (Brown) did,” said the Black Cats boss. “I think he embarrassed the players.

“They’re cold out there, and they need nutrition and ice packs. It’s a holistic thing, and you have to look after them at half-time. Plus, if there is laptop stuff to show them, you have to be able to explain what’s gone wrong.

“If I need to criticise a player, I’d pull him individually.

I wouldn’t do it in front of people. Players want respect, and I try to give them that. I try to treat them how I wanted to be treated as a player.”

Brown, with his permatan and regular appearances on Sky Sports, would appear to be a polar opposite of Sbragia, with his dour demeanour and distrust of the media spotlight.

The pair share a similar background – both worked under Sam Allardyce at Bolton Wanderers, although Brown had moved to Derby by the time Sbragia arrived from Old Trafford – and both appear to have inherited their mentor’s faith in sports science and technology.

But their personalities could hardly be more different, and while Brown appears to have perfected the knack of self-promotion, Sbragia is far happier to push his players into the limelight.

“I don’t like going into the paper,” he said. “I don’t enjoy it, I like having my own life. The players are the ones that do it all.

“If they’re successful, everyone in the club is successful, so I try to give them everything they need for the games and then they have to deliver.

“I’d never criticise them. If it goes the other way, it’s my fault not theirs. They’re giving everything they can and that’s all I can expect of them.”

While Gareth Southgate has opted to turn up the heat on his Middlesbrough players, Sbragia’s approach has been to take as much pressure as possible off the shoulders of his squad.

That brings its own dangers, with critics suggesting that Sunderland are sleepwalking towards the relegation zone without acknowledging the seriousness of the situation in which they now find themselves.

Sbragia refutes that claim, insisting his players are all too aware of the importance of the club’s next six matches.

“The players know the importance of the game and what it means to the club and them in general,” he said. “But we have to try to take that pressure off the players.

“They seem very buoyant.

You sometimes get a feel for when it’s gone a bit quiet in the dressing room, but that hasn’t been the case here.”

Kieran Richardson and Dean Whitehead could replace Andy Reid and Grant Leadbitter for today’s game, but Carlos Edwards is expected to retain his place on the right wing, with Sbragia urging him to have more belief in his own ability.

“He’s definitely got something,”

he said. “But whether he believes in what he’s got is another matter. I put him in against United and he did really well. The stats show he was the top player in terms of high intensity, speed and endurance.”