Moyes bemoans thin Sunderland squad

Sunderland - After seeing his side knocked out of the FA Cup by Burnley on Tuesday, Sunderland manager David Moyes blamed the lack of options available to him in the squad.

The 2-0 defeat saw the Black Cats run of games without a win stretch to six with no clear solutions in sight after yet another abject performance.

They are suffering from a string of injuries to key players and Moyes was able to make just three changes to the side that lost to Stoke City in the Premier League on Saturday - a match in which he did not make a single substitution.

"I've not wanted to use it as an excuse and I've genuinely tried not to, and I'm not using it here," he said.

"The players that are out there I expect to play better, I don't expect them to make a couple of mistakes, but if I had other players, maybe I could take some players out and put somebody else in.

"I could do something different with it and let them know - you're not getting away with that. At the moment I can't do that.

"I've tried not to use it in any way as an excuse but it's a fact, we're short, we're finding it a struggle, we're putting near enough the same players out."

Moyes recently also stated that if he had known the situation or lack of funds that would be available to him he would have thought differently about the offer to take over at Sunderland.

The Black Cats next face a key fixture when they face West Bromwhich Albion at the Hawthorns Stadium on Saturday and will be looking to reverse their poor form.

Kick off is at 17:00.