Fulham head coach Alvaro Arbeloa has questioned his team’s attitude, commitment and mentality after they suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Sunderland in the Premier League.

Substitute Wilson Isidor scored the only goal of the game in the 75th minute to hand Sunderland their first league victory of the season and leave Fulham without a point from their opening two matches.

Isidor had already gone close moments earlier when he struck the post after being found in the penalty area. He eventually made the breakthrough when Habib Diarra raced down the right and his low cross was not held by Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno, allowing Isidor to finish.

Arbeloa was furious with his players after only his third competitive match in charge, admitting he was deeply unhappy with their performance.

“I didn’t like the attitude of my team,” Arbeloa said. “We didn’t even fight, we didn’t run, poor technical level. We were not in the game.”

The former Real Madrid defender highlighted the contrast between Fulham’s spirited performance in their opening-weekend defeat by Chelsea and their lack of intensity against Sunderland.

“Against Chelsea at home, it’s easy to run and fight, but you have to do it every game,” he added.

Fulham failed to register a single shot on target against Sunderland as the visitors defended resolutely and comfortably protected their lead.

Arbeloa insists his players must show greater character, competitiveness and ambition if they are to turn their season around.

“We want to be competitive; it’s the most important thing for a team. We were not at our level – we need to show something more,” he said.

With Fulham having now lost both of their opening Premier League matches, the pressure will quickly grow on Arbeloa to find a response.

Can Alvaro Arbeloa fix Fulham’s attitude before their poor start turns into a serious crisis?