Just as Sunderland thought they'd got their Championship season back on track with a 2-0 away win at Cardiff City, the Black Cats were dealt the harshest possible blow against Blackburn Rovers.
The Riversiders ran rampant at the Stadium of Light in a comprehensive 5-1 drubbing, with Mike Dodds' troops trudging off battered and bruised at the end of such a crushing defeat.
Murmurs of positivity that came after the win away in the Welsh capital have now been very much drowned out with an overwhelming wave of disgruntled Sunderland fans voicing their rage.
They all would have been understandably angered by Patrick Roberts' no-show against John Eustace's clinical visitors, after the former Celtic man was deemed fit enough to return to the XI yesterday.
Patrick Roberts' performance vs Blackburn in numbers
Having missed his side's last seven Championship matches before being thrown back into the first-team mix yesterday, Dodds must have been thinking he should have continued to leave Roberts out of his lineups owing to his disastrous afternoon against Blackburn.
The sub-par Sunderland number ten would last just 55 minutes in total, before being hauled off for 16-year-old Chris Rigg to be a bright spark by scoring the Black Cats' consolation strike of the day.
In contrast, the dire 27-year-old winger would be unable to register a single shot on the Blackburn goal.
Moreover, the usually tricky 5 foot 6 attacker would also fail to complete a single successful dribble in the one-sided encounter or even win a duel from the four he attempted.
It will be an easy decision for Dodds to make, therefore, in axing Roberts from his next starting lineup when Sunderland face off against Bristol City to try and make amends for the sobering nature of this dreadful defeat.
Callum Styles will also be nervous about his spot in Dodds' starting elevens going forward after his nightmare showing against the Riversiders, the Barnsley loanee caught out time and time again in the left-back spot.
Callum Styles' performance vs Blackburn in numbers
The interim Sunderland boss will also be left cursing his decision-making to start Styles at full-back over ex-Leeds United man Leo Hjelde, with the Hungary international out of his depth all afternoon against the buoyed-on Blackburn attackers.
The Sunderland number 28 would have a torrid time trying to keep tabs on the likes of Ryan Hedges and Sammie Szmodics advancing through at will for the away side, resulting in Styles being dribbled past twice in the 5-1 loss.
On top of that, the January recruit would fail to relieve the constant pressure on the Sunderland goal effectively, with two failed long balls up the pitch as Blackburn went about rubbing salt into the wounds of the lacklustre Wearside hosts.
Given a scathing 2/10 match rating by Roker Report journalist Andy Tomlinson after the game, who described Styles' display as 'all over the place' from a defensive point of view, the 24-year-old will also most likely fall victim to Dodds ringing the changes against the Robins.
Minutes played
90
Touches
81
Dribbled past
2x
Possession lost
13x
Accurate long balls
0/2
Duels won
4/7
Dodds will hope his Sunderland players have got their most abject displays out of their system, with the Bristol City home game up next a perfect possible way to get doubters back on side by bouncing back with a victory.
However, if another loss comes about straight after this humbling 5-1 defeat, the natives at the Stadium of Light could become even more restless and agitated.
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