The Black Cats suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at home to Championship side Notts County to wave goodbye to the competition from an early stage.

"I don't want to make excuses. We were beaten fairly and squarely," Bruce told Sunderland’s official site.

"We got exactly what we deserved when we started the game like that.

"We didn't show any urgency. If you're not right and not doing the basics properly against any team then you won't win.

"Only when we brought Jordan Henderson and Ahmed Elmohamady on did we show any sort of urgency and it proved to be too late."

Sunderland were also dumped out of the Carling Cup in September, following another home defeat to lowly Premier League rivals West Ham.