McCarthy defiant in face of likely drop

A defiant Mick McCarthy is refusing to throw in the towel as Sunderland attempt to bridge the 16-point safety gap against Manchester City at Eastlands tomorrow.

With just 10 points from 27 matches, the Black Cats face a daunting task just to claw their way past their own miserable record of 19 points when they were relegated from the Premiership three years ago.