SUNDERLAND'S big-money flops have been told they have just eight games to save their Stadium of Light careers.

The warning came from Mick McCarthy as he vowed to get tough in an attempt to reverse the club's alarming two-year slide that will almost certainly end with relegation.

McCarthy will have to sell a number of players this summer if Sunderland go down as Stadium of Light bosses look to keep in check debts that are spiralling towards the £30m mark.

This season's cataclysmic slump in form, including seven straight League defeats, has highlighted that a significant section of the Black Cats squad are not good enough for the Premiership.

Now, new boss McCarthy is prepared to wield the axe if his players do not sufficiently impress him in the last eight weeks of the season.

Sunderland winger Thomas Butler said: "We're playing for our futures here.

"The new manager has told us that, if we're not up for a fight, we might as well not be here."

McCarthy must overcome increasingly long odds as he tries to mastermind the most unlikely survival mission imaginable.

Seven wins are probably needed from Sunderland's remaining League programme - including matches against Chelsea and Arsenal - for them to avoid relegation.

Butler is taking a sanguine view of his club's dire situation, and he said: "We have to be realistic and we know how hard it's going to be.

"Our form hasn't been great but we'll try our very best to get out of it.

"We've got to get results. If we could do that, even if it was just one or two good results, things would change so much and our confidence would be back."

Butler is delighted with the appointment of McCarthy, who gave the 21-year-old his Republic of Ireland debut against Finland last August.

Butler believes McCarthy's partnership with Ian Evans will be invaluable to the Black Cats' cause, and he said: "Mick and Ian were great when I was with Ireland.

"Their training is really enjoyable and they make a lot of sense. I can learn a lot from them.

"They work really well together. Ian is very down to earth. He knows about football and tells the players what they need to know.

"The manager is very approachable and he has an impact on players."

* Sunderland are restricting ticket sales for their derby with Newcastle on April 26.

Following crowd trouble for the recent game with Middlesbrough at the Stadium of Light, there will no tickets on general sale.

Sales through the internet and agency sales will also be cancelled and the club is instead offering season ticket holders the chance to buy extra tickets.

Fans who have also bought tickets on a game-by-game basis this season will be eligible.

Newcastle have been allocated 3,000 tickets.

* Middlesbrough's Mark Schwarzer and Tony Vidmar have been called into the Australia squad to face Argentina on Tuesday, April 1, in Spain. Luke Wilkshire has been named as first reserve. Goalkeeper Schwarzer and defender Vidmar were part of the Socceroos team which beat England at Upton Park in February.

* Long-serving Manchester City striker Shaun Goater has not thought about the prospect of quitting Maine Road. The 33-year-old Bermudan has been squeezed out of the first-team picture since the arrival of £6m hit-man Robbie Fowler from Leeds during the January transfer window.

* Nottingham Forest bounced back from what manager Paul Hart described as a ''difficult week'' to crush near neighbours Derby 3-0 last night.

A shock defeat at struggling Brighton at the weekend brought an end to an eight-match unbeaten run, proving promotion to the Barclaycard Premiership will not be a formality.

They responded to the challenge in style last night as they swept away a despondent Derby with first-half goals from Marlon Harewood and Darren Huckerby, with Harewood completing the rout just after the interval from the penalty spot.

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