Sam Allardyce explains why Sunderland continued to select Adam Johnson

Sam Allardyce says the club has "no sympathy" for their former player.

Adam Johnson played 20 games this season for Sunderland, prior to being sacked after pleading guilty to one charge of sexual activity with a child, and another count of grooming, and being sacked by the club. Johnson, who pleaded not guilty to two charges, was found guilty of one of the charges on Wednesday, and now faces up to ten years in prison. Questions have been raised about Sunderland allowing the player to feature in the first team, despite having the charge hanging over him since last March. However, Sunderland manager Allardyce, who was appointed in October, said Johnson continued to be selected because he had told the club he wasn't guilty and therefore had no intention of pleading guilty to any of the charges."As far as I know, Adam was pleading not guilty all the way through from the day I arrived," the 61 year old said.

"Obviously this incident had happened well before I got here. The information to me was that he was pleading not guilty to all charges, and that was why we continued to let him train and play for us." "We were all at the football club stunned and shocked the day before the trial started when we heard a guilty plea come out. I was sat at home when it came on the news, and I was just gobsmacked because as far as we were concerned, it was going to be not guilty on all charges."

The Sunderland manager also said there was no sympathy for the convicted 28 year old from anyone at the club. "He's gone through the process, and the process has proven that he's guilty. Now he has to serve his sentence, and there’s not a lot of sympathy here for Adam Johnson. There's no doubt about that."

"I'm hugely disappointed on Adam Johnson, and what has happened. But my sympathies don't lie with him, they lie with the victim and the family."

"Now the judgement has been made, we all feel extremely let down by what has happened and by what Adam has done."