SUNDERLAND boss Gus Poyet has admitted that his side will have to become more creative if they are going to get the best out of new signing Jermain Defoe.

Defoe made his home Black Cats debut in yesterday's goalless draw with Fulham, and while he fired in a couple of second-half efforts that tested opposition goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli, he never really looked like scoring his first goal in a Sunderland shirt.

Poyet's new-look 3-5-2 formation is an attempt to increase his side's attacking threat, but yesterday's performance was as laboured as anything Sunderland have produced all season, and means they have recorded just two home victories in all competitions this term.

Poyet said: "He (Defoe) will get in the right positions, but it is up to us. If you don’t play forward and you don’t really push in wide areas, he is not going to have the chances.

"That is why at the end there was more and more because Patrick (van Aanholt) started crossing the ball more."

Sunderland's task became more difficult when Jack Rodwell was dimissed midway through the second half for preventing Bettinelli from releasing the ball inside his own area.

Given that Rodwell had already been booked for a crude challenge on Konstantinos Stafylidis, it was a particularly senseless way to be dismissed, but Poyet refused to condemn the midfielder.

He said: "The referee probably had no option than to send off Jack, but I’m not bothered because that is the actions of football. People who play football at the highest level know sometimes you can do things.

"It was nothing that bad to worry about. I’m sure Jack will know, so it is nothing else.

"It is a problem for him because we are looking for the team to click and win. And if we win on Saturday (against Burnley) he will struggle to get back in."