“Horrible”: The 33-year-old claims that his time as a Sunderland player caused him to lose interest in sport…

According to Jason Steele, his time at Sunderland was “horrible.”

The goalkeeper stated on BBC Sport’s Football Focus that he would have seized the opportunity to leave Wearside five years prior.
After Blackburn Rovers were relegated to the Championship, Jason Steele, who had originally arrived as the number one, joined Sunderland.

The former Middlesbrough academy player had a terrible season on Wearside, committing several errors and drawing constant criticism from the crowd.

Before receiving a humiliating red card against QPR, Steele only managed one clean sheet in all competitions. He only made three more appearances before the Black Cats were relegated.

Steele went onto make the shock move to Brighton in the Premier League and has moved up the pecking order in recent seasons, starting nine games in all competitions this term.

The 33-year-old was originally a backup following his move to the south coast, but Steele has admitted he was still happy because it meant leaving Sunderland.

While speaking to Glenn Murray on Football Focus, Steele said, “”I think it was more from where I had come from, in terms of being at Sunderland for a year.
“I’ve never watched the [Sunderland Til I Die] documentary, and I don’t think I ever will. Because it’s a period in your life that you’ve moved on from now. By the end, I was thinking, I’m not sure this is for me anymore.

“I lived in the region, had three small children, was married, and there were moments when I didn’t even want to take the kids to school. That demonstrates how awful it was up there. You’re getting banged up every week, and you don’t want to look at your phone or go outside.

When the chance to move here [to Brighton] presented itself, I don’t think I even inquired about my pay. I thought, “Yeah!” Essentially, it was a case of rediscovering one’s love for football.