Premier League: Sunderland boss Gus Poyet criticises referee after 1-0 defeat to Liverpool

Sunderland boss Gus Poyet accused referee Craig Pawson of inconsistency after he sent off Liam Bridcutt in Sunderland's 1-0 defeat at home to Liverpool.

The Sunderland midfielder was booked in the first half for a tangle with Steven Gerrard and was dismissed four minutes after half-time when he picked up a second yellow card for a needless foul on Emre Can.

Poyet conceded that Bridcutt left himself open to punishment, but was frustrated that the officials did not react to similar offences involving Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho.

He said: "The foul [by Bridcutt] stopped an attack and if I'm being honest it could have been a yellow card.

"But by the same rule Coutinho should also have had two yellow cards. You cannot pick and choose - you either referee by the rules or by common sense.

"I think the referee picked when he was going to referee by the rules and when by common sense, and that is not acceptable."

Lazar Markovic's ninth-minute goal ultimately proved the difference and the defeat extended a dismal run which has seen Sunderland fail to pick up a home league win since October,

However, Poyet asked for the patience of the supporters who expressed their displeasure at the final whistle.

He added: "We are trying and I think they [the fans] need to accept reality - I think they should look at what has been going on for four or five years and I think they should be a little more patient now.

"It's true that we don't give them too much and it's unfair to ask the fans for anything - we have to make sure we give them a few wins at home so they can enjoy them.

"We need to be positive. I think we lost the first 45 minutes of a very important game and when you do that against a team like Liverpool, normally you get punished - then we tried and played better when we were down to 10 men.

"But on the day it was not enough so it is a good way of learning that you cannot give too much away in a game like this."