Sorry Sunderland sinking fast

RELEGATION battles are full of hoary old cliches, but the one that states that there is always a team that makes a late, kamikaze plummet into danger is currently causing sleepless nights by the thousands in Sunderland.

The Wearsiders are locked in the sort of calamitous tail-spin which can only have a messy ending, this latest defeat stretching their winless run to six matches. They are just one place above the relegation zone and find themselves in the awkward position of feeling grateful for the failings of their much-loathed local rivals Newcastle, who currently wallow third from bottom.

Yet Sunderland could soon find themselves replacing them. Their next opponents are Manchester United at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.

“They don’t come any easier than that!” joked Dean Whitehead, the midfielder, although the humour was of the gallows variety. “But after that game we have got Hull and West Brom and we are looking to win both of those games.

“Of course there is still belief, there is no doubting that.

“We have got some good international players but we have got a big fight on our hands now and we have got to stand up and be counted.”

Sunderland’s decline has been startling. Just six weeks ago, they held Arsenal to a goalless draw at the Emirates to move into 10th place in the Premier League table. Fans were singing the praises of manager Ricky Sbragia and Roy Keane barely merited a mention.

But the Wearsiders have taken just one point since, losing five of their last six games, and Sbragia’s credentials to lead the club out of strife are now being questioned.

There was a sense of grim inevitability about this latest defeat, despite the fact that West Ham were deprived of their senior strikeforce. Instead, the visitors fell victim to two killer punches landed by graduates of the club’s academy, Junior Stanislas and James Tomkins.

Stanislas, 19, was told he was playing just two hours before kick-off, so sent a text message to his friends to come to Upton Park.

Having found himself singing the club’s anthem, ‘Bubbles’ in the tunnel before the game, he duly celebrated tapping in the opening goal by pointing to his mates in the crowd.

“It was a great debut but the boys here will keep my feet on the ground,” he said.

WEST HAM (4-4-2): Green 7, Neill 6, Tomkins 8, Upson 6, Ilunga 6, Noble 7, Spector 6 (Collins 73, 5), Stanislas 7 (Lopez 90, 5), Boa Morte7, Di Michele 7 (Dyer 81, 6), Tristan 6.

Subs Not Used: Lastuvka, Nsereko, Sears, Payne.

SUNDERLAND (4-4-2): Gordon 5, Bardsley 6, Ferdinand 6, Ben-Haim 5, Collins 6, Malbranque 6 (Edwards 75, 5), Whitehead 6, Richardson 5, Leadbitter 7, Cisse 6, Murphy 5(Jones 54, 5).

Subs Not Used: Fulop, Nosworthy, Reid, Healy, McShane.

REFEREE: Mike Jones (Cheshire) 6: Let the players have the attention.

MATCH RATING: *** Sunderland’s woes continue to mushroom.