OPINION
With Tottenham out of the FA Cup you can imagine that most of the Lilywhite faithful would spend their Friday night basking in the glory of their Champions League thrashing of Borussia Dortmund in midweek.
For the diehard supporters, they may well have been in attendance at the under-23’s disappointing defeat to north London rivals Arsenal, while others might have been sitting down in front of the telly, ready to watch some League One football with a bit more interest than usual.
That is because Sunderland played host to Accrington Stanley in the third tier, the Black Cats now giving the Spurs support a reason to keep a close eye on their performances and results thanks to the loaning of Kazaiah Sterling from the north London outfit.
The young hot shot joined the north east side on a temporary deal until the end of the season in a bid to make his mark in the senior game but the 20-year-old has managed to make just one appearance to date, being left on the bench for the midweek draw against Blackpool.
He does of course have to earn his spot in the side but Friday night saw the Tottenham starlet completely left out of the match day squad – not even being handed the chance of a substitute appearance – in a reveal which would no doubt have had Mauricio Pochettino tearing his hair out.
Tonight's team news, in association with @aphrodite1994…#SAFC pic.twitter.com/LVihslGBeR
— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) February 15, 2019
The youngster was given the green light to leave to pick up semi-regular first team football but he has just 31 minutes to his name so far – and Pochettino will be wondering if he has made a blunder letting Sterling leave.
The striker does have his whole career ahead of him but these fledgling stages are not looking good for him – things have to improve, fast.