Laura Wilson assesses Sunderland’s state in the wake of Tuesday night’s League Cup win over Exeter.

AFTER another woeful performance from Sunderland’s defence last night, it isn’t surprising that Dick Advocaat is looking for another summer signing.

He saw his team concede a further three goals in their Capital One second round cup tie against Exeter City which finished 6-3. This takes their tally up to 11 in the first four games in all competitions.

What’s hard to believe is that Advocaat has focused on strengthening his backline this summer, with Younes Kaboul, Sebastian Coates and Adam Matthews all joining the Wearsiders.

Despite conceding seven goals in their first two games, fans saw a degree of improvement in the 1-1 draw against Swansea at the weekend as Kaboul was replaced with John O’Shea.

But last night O’Shea and Coates looked all at sea, with Matthews taking the brunt of the blame as all three goals came from the right-hand side.

The most worrying sight was that Patrick van Aanholt was the best Sunderland had to offer despite his humiliating mistakes against Norwich and Leicester.

Earlier this week, Black Cats fans were given hope as the club were linked to Manchester City’s Jason Denayer, who now looks to be joining either Galatasaray or Marseille on loan.

With that in mind, it is to be hoped that the current backline can turn it around. The fact is they have conceded 11 goals that were all mistakes, and all avoidable.

This time last season, the Wearsiders were facing a crisis up front.

This year, however, Sunderland have managed to score an impressive ten goals in their first four games.

Jermain Defoe has proved to be the answer to the Black Cats’ prayers. He is fast, confident and is even showing signs of his goalscoring prowess from his Tottenham days.

However, with Danny Graham and Steven Fletcher struggling to find their form, Defoe has to stay fit in order for Sunderland to have any chance of scoring.

In terms of strengthening his midfield, Advocaat has had failed attempts to sign Stewart Downing and Leroy Fer.

A handy addition to his side could come in the form of Jonathan de Guzman, who has knowledge of the Premier League from his time at Swansea City.

Thankfully, Jack Rodwell appears to be hitting form at the right time which he proved last night by finding the net twice.

Also, new first-team player Duncan Watmore was the Barclays Under-21 Premier League Player of the Year last season. Both he and fellow under-21 star, Lynden Gooch, impressed against Exeter.

Watmore has won over the crowd after scoring twice this season, and shown Advocaat that an injection of youth may pay dividends this term.