Reid awakening for Sunderland

So maybe Peter Reid was right all along. As the rest of Wearside got carried away with Sunderland's surge up the Premiership table, and thoughts drifted towards how the team might fare in next season's UEFA Cup or even Champions League, Reid steadfastly refused to countenance talk of Europe.

After seeing Sunderland fail to get the better of Crystal Palace for the second time in three weeks, even the most optimistic fan will have had his confidence dented. Sunderland will bounce back after Saturday's 0-0 draw, of course, and, as Reid pointed out, they tore apart Ipswich, a team boasting a formidable away record, just five days before.

The absence of Niall Quinn, left on the bench until the 76th minute, was crucial, as was the loss of the left-wing axis of Julio Arca, on international duty, and rested captain Michael Gray.

But while Manchester United and Arsenal, the only teams above Sunderland in the Premiership, might have ruthlessly dealt with Palace, particularly after the sending off of Hayden Mullins in the 56th minute for swinging an arm at Gavin McCann, Reid's side appeared devoid of inspiration.

'I haven't spoken about Europe but one or two of the players have done so in the last few days and look what's happened,' said Reid. 'We tried to force it through the middle instead of stretching them by playing it wide. When they dropped deep, we were too anxious and we didn't pass enough. 'You've got to be patient and you've got to work at people when they've got 10 men, but we didn't do that. I know how difficult it can be against 10 men because I lost an FA Cup Final to a team in that situation.' Reid acknowledged that his side had been taught a lesson, and one would expect them to take that on board. Whether they pay a short-term price for their failure to punish Palace will emerge a week on Wednesday, though, when the third-round replay takes place at Selhurst Park.

The ground has not been kind to Sunderland - Reid concedes their record there is 'abysmal' - and it is where they were relegated in 1997, albeit by Wimbledon not Palace. With Alex Kolinko in the hosts' goal again, the Division One side will have a good chance of extending that wretched run.