Sunderland midfielder Craig Gardner has hit back at critics blaming manager Paolo Di Canio for the club's poor start to the season.

The Black Cats are currently at the bottom of the Premier League table after picking up just one point from four games, but Gardner believes that Di Canio is an easy target.

"I think a lot of the people who've been writing the manager off have got something against Paolo Di Canio," the Northern Echo quotes Gardner as saying.

"It's not just his management skills, there's always something to knock him about. Of course he's a Premier League manager, he's managing in the Premier League and he's trying to change things here. We've still got faith in him as a squad, of course we have."

Sunderland's next match is a trip to The Hawthorns to take on West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.