Cats star Temmu Tainio is not relishing delay

May 17 2009 by James Hunter, Sunday Sun

TEEMU TAINIO has hit out at TV schedulers for making Sunderland stew for 48 hours before potentially their most important game of the season.

Sunderland play Portsmouth tomorrow night in a televised game which could determine the Black Cats’ Premier League fate – with relegation rivals Hull City and Middlesbrough both picking up a point yesterday, and despite Newcastle losing.

Yesterday’s results mean a draw at Fratton Park could well be enough to make Sunderland safe.

On the other and, if Newcastle win their final game at Aston Villa and Sunderland lose against Chelsea, the Tynesiders would go ahead of their local rivals on goal difference.

However, for the Black Cats to end up in the bottom three, Hull would still need a home victory against newly-crowned Premier League champions Manchester United.

The final round of Premier League fixtures always kick-off simultaneously to avoid any side, at the top or at the bottom, having an advantage or finding themselves at a disadvantage.

Tainio believes all the games in the final stages of the run-in should kick-off together.

“I think for the last three games or so, all the matches should kick-off on the same day at the same time,” said Tainio, right.

“I do not like the idea of people playing at different times and on different days.

“Always the last games of the season kick-off together, but the damage could be done by then. It should be the same for the last two or three games.

“They are so important at the bottom of the table, sometimes at the top of the table too. When I played in France, everyone kicked off at the same time for the last three games, but that is not the English way.

Sunderland’s crucial game against Pompey was originally due to be played yesterday at 3.00 but was selected for coverage live on Setanta – a decision which infuriated Niall Quinn.

The Black Cats chairman criticised the schedulers for changing the date at short notice, which ruined the travel plans of a sizeable contingent of fans who had already booked travel and hotels.

Sunderland have sold the maximum allocation of tickets for tomorrow’s game, with 1500 fans set to make the 675-mile round trip.