Is Sunderland pressure the reason why Max Power’s red card record has sky-rocketed?

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“I’ll learn from this and do my best to make sure it never happens again,” were the words uttered by Max Power after he picked up the second red card of his Sunderland career against Bradford City last month. It came after seeing red against Oxford in September and fans at Sunderland hoped it was the last time.

Yesterday, he saw red for the third time. It was, perhaps, a harsh decision but as many Sunderland fans noted on Twitter, Power gave the referee the option.

Some fans are now done with Power, suggesting he should be sent back to Wigan Athletic considering he is now suspended for five games.

However, the question needs to be asked. Why is he getting sent off so much for Sunderland?

Bizarrely, Power’s first red card for Sunderland was actually the first red card in his entire career. Now he is on three just a couple of months later.

Power, an excellent performer at this level with Wigan, has normally managed to channel his clear aggression but in a Sunderland shirt, it is spilling over.

Could it be the pressure of playing for such a big club? All due respect to Wigan, they are not as big a club at Sunderland, even if they currently play at a higher level.

Power is simply trying too hard to impress, rather than just playing the game that has got him too far.

Sunderland should stick by him. On his day, Power is easily a top performer at this level who could play a key role in any promotion push.

But he needs to relax and play his game. If he can stay on the pitch, Sunderland fans will see the best of the 25-year-old.