SEB LARSSON thinks the collective decision to refund the cost of supporters’ match tickets for the 8-0 drubbing at Southampton was a worthy one, but feels only improved results will truly make amends.

The Swedish midfielder was part of the Black Cats team so comprehensively beaten at St Mary’s on Saturday, with the Saints inflicting the heaviest defeat in the Wearside’s club’s history on Gus Poyet’s team.

The farcical scoreline led to the players holding a team meeting to discuss the merits of reimbursing fans the full cost of their match ticket, with fans not wishing to do so having the option of donating the money to Sunderland-based children’s hospice Grace House instead.

Larsson felt that the move was necessary in the wake of such an embarrassing result in the Premier League, which led to accusations that some of the Sunderland players stopped trying.

But the 29-year-old, knowing how just a point separates Sunderland from the relegation zone, still thinks that a better performance on the field is the only true way to make up for the Southampton shambles.

Larsson said: “We didn’t need to do it to draw a line under it; it was just something we wanted to do. It was what felt right. Once we made that decision, that was it, it was the right decision.

“We made that gesture to show that we understand the frustration. We feel the frustration and that’s the end of the situation now. The best way to repay people is to get three points on Saturday. That’s what we will try to do.”

Sunderland face Arsenal at the Stadium of Light this weekend knowing that a defeat could see them drop in to the relegation zone after nine matches. Such a scenario is not what Poyet or his players had been hoping for with November approaching.

But the majority of the club’s fans, even in the immediate aftermath of the defeat to the Saints, are remaining loyal and supportive of what Poyet has tried to do.

Larsson said: “We have had a very good backing ever since I have been here. We have been in difficult situations before but they have still always got behind us.

“I have never been worried that the fans aren’t coming back. They always fill the stadium and they back us. They are passionate fans. We want to show them what we are about and I am sure we will.

“Our fans always get behind us. They even got behind us for large parts of the game at Southampton. We can’t fault them at all. I am sure they will do everything they can to push us through. Together, hopefully, we will be strong like we have been in the past.”

A lot of soul-searching at the club’s Academy of Light training base has gone on over the last few days, with players still stunned by the events at Southampton. That remains, though, only the second time Sunderland have lost this season in the league and they are yet to lose at home.

Larsson said: “There’s obviously been a lot of honest conversations. We have had to go through the game, which was not the most pleasant thing, but I suppose that’s what you have to do when you suffer a defeat like that. We have analysed it and hopefully we will make sure that never happens again.

“It’s a balancing act in how to deal with it. You have to deal with the pain and you have to feel the pain of such an embarrassing defeat but then at the same time you can’t dwell on it for too long. We have a game coming up in a few days time.

“We also have to remind ourselves that there were a lot of positives early on in the season. We have to pick back up from where we left off before the Southampton game. We have looked through all of the details, seen the videos, we have seen all of the goals ... you have to feel that embarrassment.”