DAVID MOYES has conceded Sunderland need to make multiple signings in the final two weeks of the transfer window if they are to give themselves a realistic chance of avoiding relegation.

The Black Cats crashed out of the FA Cup last night as goals from Sam Vokes and Andre Gray condemned them to a 2-0 defeat in their third-round replay at Burnley.

With no more cup matches to concern them, Sunderland’s only focus in the remaining four months of the season will be on avoiding the drop, but last night’s game, in which the visitors were comprehensively outplayed by a much-changed Burnley side, hardly augurs well for their chances.

Sunderland chief executive Martin Bain outlined the club’s perilous financial position last month, and Moyes accepts he will have limited room for manoeuvre before the transfer window closes.

However, having made a formal approach for Norwich midfielder Robbie Brady earlier this week, and having also inquired about Everton centre-half Phil Jagielka, the Black Cats boss accepts that two or three additions are essential if he is to have a realistic hope of guiding his side to survival.

“We’re trying, and we’re always hopeful,” said Moyes, who refused to comment on the specifics of his pursuit of Brady. “We’re always pushing to see if we can make something work. We’ll need to see what happens. I’ve been asked whether I’m hopeful that someone will come in, but it’s more than some ‘one’ we need. That’s obvious. We are trying to see if we can do one or two things.

“We’re looking around. Everyone knows our limitations, and what we can and can’t do, but we are needing to add, due to the shortage of what we’ve got. We’ve got some long-term injuries, we’ve got one or two who are quite close, but we’ve also got lads away at the Africa Cup of Nations, although when we signed them we knew that was going to be the situation.”

The limitations of Sunderland’s squad were glaringly apparent last night as Moyes rested Defoe and O’Shea ahead of Saturday’s league game with West Brom, and was also unable to call upon Jack Rodwell because the midfielder has suffered a knee injury.

George Honeyman came in for only his third senior appearance, and Moyes was forced to switch to a five-man defence to accommodate a number of players who would prefer to play in the same position.

Defoe came on as a second-half substitute, but the rest of Sunderland’s bench was comprised of academy players, with Moyes having nowhere else to turn as he attempts to ensure his side remains as competitive as possible.

“I’ve not wanted to use it (the lack of players) as an excuse, and I’m genuinely trying not to,” he said. “I’m not using it tonight in any way – none at all. The players that were out there, I expect to play better.

“I don’t expect them to make the couple of mistakes they made leading up to the goals. But if I had other players, I could maybe take some players out and bring someone else in. I could do something different and let them know they’re not getting away with that. At the moment, I can’t do that.”

Sunderland fell behind when Vokes headed home Tendayi Darikwa’s cross on the stroke of half-time, and Burnley’s victory was confirmed when Gray swept home from inside the area with seven minutes left.

Burnley can now look forward to a fourth-round tie against Bristol City, while Sunderland will have two free weekends to gather their thoughts as they look to force their way out of the bottom three.

Going out of the FA Cup might not be the worst thing in the world given the Black Cats’ lack of squad depth, although Moyes was not adopting such a mind-set last night.

“I didn’t want any clear weekends,” he said. “It’s nice to have a clear midweek so you can train all through the week, but we’ve not got European football or extra games or anything like that. We were hoping for a good run in the cup, and I genuinely wanted to get through.

“I think our big chance probably came at the Stadium of Light a week or so ago, although I still thought we could be good enough to beat Burnley here.

“We were outplayed here a few weeks ago as well though, so we’ve found it difficult to deal with Burnley’s style more than anything. We changed a little bit tonight, and I thought we just about coped in the first half. We just unravelled a little bit five minutes before half-time. They got a couple of corners, and then we lost a goal on the stroke of half-time, which was a real blow.”