AHEAD of a weekend when Sunderland could be consigned to League One, Chris Coleman is desperate to keep his players focused on the survival fight despite fresh talk over the club’s future.

As much as he would like to still be in charge next season, Coleman has been keen to put such talk on the back burner until there is a clearer picture of what direction the Black Cats expect to be heading in away from the pitch.

The former Wales manager has managed to keep his players battling away to keep faint hopes of survival alive, highlighted by a run of three consecutive draws which have shown plenty of signs of spirit.

The chances of Sunderland being able to lift themselves out of the bottom three remain slim with three matches remaining, given there is still a six point gap with only nine to play for.

That means relegation could be confirmed this weekend if they fail to overcome fellow strugglers Burton at the Stadium of Light, ahead of further dates with promotion chasing Fulham and champions Wolves before the season ends.

It will only be then when Coleman seriously looks at the summer, and what could be on the cards. He has spoken previously of how hard it will be to head into next season, regardless of the division, if Ellis Short remains in control and maintains his reluctance to invest in a revival.

Ideally one of the interested parties in taking over would follow up tentative discussions by pursuing a deal, although the club’s debt continues to complicate matters and the latest set of accounts is due to be published at some stage this month.

There are a number of overseas groups who have made contact over the last year or so, while the latest to have been linked with a potential bid for the club was North-East business G O Brien & Sons. Nothing, though, is imminent.

Such uncertainty has certainly not helped matters on the pitch, given there was just £1.25m spent on transfer fees for new players after relegation from the Premier League.

Even if the players did manage to turn things around dramatically in the last few games the situation would still be the same, so Short will have to come up with a plan along with chief executive Martin Bain to discuss things with Coleman in the coming weeks.

Coleman was encouraged by Saturday’s display at Reading when it looked at one stage as if they might return to Wearside with a vital three points. Full-back Donald Love insists the players will keep going until it is mathematically impossible to stay up.

Love said: “We're still fighting for the fans and they can see that. I think that's why we got a good reaction at the end. We're still fighting to stay in this league and we still want to win every game. It's for them at the end of the day.

“Burton is a must-win game for us, everyone knows that. We just want to go into that game and win.

“The manager has not really changed the team much recently and you can see that in the way we've been playing. That's why the fans are backing us. It's been good.

“We're still fighting but at the end of the season we might look back on it and wish we hadn't had all the injuries that have made it so difficult for us to keep a settled side but right now it's not about looking back, we're still looking forward.”

While reasons and excuses can explain aspects of Sunderland’s plight, there is also a need to hang on to the positives that are around. One of those has certainly been the performances of Paddy McNair, out of action so often through injury since his arrival, and Love thinks he has been a big miss.

Asked about McNair as Middlesbrough loan man Ashley Fletcher walked past, Love said: “Paddy and Fletch have been big positives for us recently. Fletch has fitted in well, especially with us being able to get more players around him and help him.

“It's great to see Paddy playing games after all his injury problems and especially getting goals as well. We know that's what he can do and hopefully we can keep making good use of him.

“I've grown up with him swapping positions quite a bit. I've seen him play in midfield before but I've not seen him being such a powerhouse, getting from box to box. Hopefully we can see more of that.”