Frustrated Sunderland manager Roy Keane is becoming sick and tired of trotting out the same old hard luck story following matches.
That was again the case after last night's 1-0 defeat to Blackburn at Ewood Park where a 57th-minute Benni McCarthy penalty dumped the Black Cats back into the Premier League relegation zone.
That arrived just six minutes after Dean Whitehead was denied from the spot by Brad Friedel as the American saved his second penalty in the space of four days.
After watching his side suffer a ninth away defeat in 11 matches this season, Keane is becoming increasingly annoyed with his players.
'It's a learning curve for everybody but the penny has to drop,' remarked Keane.
'We can't keep having the same conversations where we are saying "there's something there for us, and we should take it".
'I'm also sick of saying the same things to the media because we felt we deserved something, but we ended up with nothing. We had a chance of pulling further away from the relegation zone, but these opportunities keep slipping away.
'Come the end of the season I hope we're not left regretting it. We could all see Blackburn were there for the taking, but we didn't take our chance, and we've not been good enough to take it.
'I'm not asking for sympathy and I'm not blaming anybody, but we had a chance and we didn't take it. In life, when you get these opportunities, some people take them and some don't, and at this moment we're not taking them.'
It is why Keane is chasing players to strengthen his side, with the club in pursuit of Blackburn midfielder Robbie Savage.
Keane is also eager to land Reading winger Stephen Hunt but has already had a £2.5million offer rejected, while Manchester United full-back Phil Bardsley - currently on loan with Sheffield United - is another target.
Of immediate concern too is striker Kenwyne Jones after he limped out of last night's match at half-time with a knee injury.
'I didn't want to take any chances, so I brought him off because he is a big player for us,' added Keane. 'We'll have a better idea over the next 48 hours as to how he is, but hopefully it's not too serious.'
