FABIO BORINI accepts he will have to continue concentrating on the defensive side of his game until Sunderland haul themselves out of relegation trouble at the foot of the Premier League table.

The Black Cats return to action when they travel to Crystal Palace this evening, and while the majority of this weekend’s results went in their favour, they will still be four points adrift of 17th-placed Newcastle United when they kick off at Selhurst Park.

Borini was a second-half substitute in the 1-0 defeat to Southampton that preceded the international break, but with Sam Allardyce expected to shuffle his pack, the Italian is expected to return to the starting line-up in South London.

He is still searching for the first goal of his second spell on Wearside, but with Steven Fletcher currently established as the main centre-forward, he is having to adapt his game in a wide position.

While he will still be looking to get forward whenever possible, Allardyce’s determination to improve Sunderland’s dreadful defensive record means he is under strict instructions to track back in order to protect the full-back playing behind him.

Ideally, he would like to play with more freedom. But with the Black Cats not having claimed an away win since they triumphed at Everton in the final month of last season, he understands why defensive resilience has to be priority at the moment.

“I prefer to attack, but I do the defensive side of things as well because we all have to do it otherwise we will just concede more and more,” said Borini, whose last Sunderland goal came on the final day of the 2013-14 season. “Obviously I would like to attack more than what we are doing just now, and try to get a little bit more of the ball.

“But every forward player would say the same. At the moment, maybe we can’t create so much because we are defending. It’s a phase. Once we get better defensively, we will get the ball back more and create more chances.

“At the moment, it is better when it is not an open game. We have to make sure that we do not concede then at least we will get a point.”

Given that his preferred position is to cut in from the left-hand side, Borini could increasingly find himself in competition with Duncan Watmore, who penned a new four-year deal with Sunderland yesterday.

Both players like to threaten from a wide position, and both boast a decent turn of pace and impressive work rate.

Borini denies they are rivals for the same role though, and claims his versatility means he is able to play in a central attacking role or on either flank.

“I don’t think we’re fighting for one place because I can play in four different roles up front,” he said. “There’s not just one place I can play – I can play up front by myself or alongside Fletch when he plays. I can also play wide in a 4-4-2 – I can play anything.

“If I train well, I know I will play. The manager knows me, and the more time we spent together, the more he will see what I am capable of. He doesn’t need me to tell him where I can play – he is the manager so he can see.”

With the final international break of the year out of the way, the domestic calendar now enters an uninterrupted spell that will run all the way until the end of March.

By then, the Premier League picture should be an awful lot clearer, and unlike his previous experience on Wearside, Borini is hoping Sunderland’s safety is all but assured by the time the next set of international matches arrive.

“I hope that by March we are safe already,” he said. “That is the aim, and mathematically it is possible. The sooner, the better.

“We know we are going to be fighting against relegation, but even Leicester would have thought that at the start of the season. Now, they find themselves in the top three, but their first thought is still to get safe from relegation.

“They are riding a wave at the moment, and that is the way things can happen. If we can get two or three wins, we can also get that kind of momentum.”