Sunderland's woes hit by dressing room problems, reveals Fabio Borini after saving a point for relegation favourites
Borini hinted at rifts within the camp hampering the rock-bottom club's survival bid
Fabio Borini has revealed dressing room splits have been damaging Sunderland's miserable season.
Substitute Borini's 90th-minute equaliser, only his second goal of the season, salvaged the slim pickings of a point for the Black Cats in the 2-2 draw with West Ham.
And the Italian's animated celebration, charging over towards the dugout, looked suspiciously like an outcast making a point to his manager David Moyes.
But his post-match interview with the BBC was even more revealing, with Borini hinting broadly at rifts within the camp hampering rock-bottom Sunderland's bid to escape the jaws of relegation.
Wahbi Khazri, instrumental in last season's late surge to safety under Sam Allardyce, impressed against the Hammers in his first start since October, and Borini's thinly-veiled criticism of Moyes was a telling symptom of unrest behind the scenes.
READ MORE: Dimitar Berbatov confirms he spoke to Sunderland boss David Moyes about a Premier League return“We did it last season, the three of us up front – me, Wahbi and Jermain Defoe – we did well. Today, we just did what we are capable of. We didn't have anything to prove because we know what we are.
“I train hard every day and I do extra work at home with a personal trainer because I feel I need to do more, and this is the moment to pay back.
“But it's been harder than previous times (escaping relegation) – we have not been at our level, we have not been as united a group as in previous seasons, and that's probably been the problem.
“In our situation, we can only get out of it together, not individually. There have been problems within the dressing room, but it's up to us to deal with the results, the injuries, to keep united and keep believing.”
Sunderland are nine points from safety with just six games remaining. To stand the remotest chance of survival, they will have to win their next four games against Middlesbrough, Bournemouth, Hull and Swansea.