WHEN Paolo Di Canio moves into his office at the Academy of Light training ground this week, he will no doubt be presented with a DVD of Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Manchester United.

If he fast forwards through 89 minutes of utterly featureless forward play, he will reach the moment, in the final minute of the game, when substitute Connor Wickham turns on the edge of area and scuffs a low shot into the arms of David De Gea.

Why would that be of interest? Because it was Sunderland's only attempt on target all game. For all the talk of tactical inflexibility, damaged morale and defence insecurities, that is the failing Martin O'Neill's successor will have to address in the remaining seven matches.

If Sunderland do not begin to pose more of an attacking threat, they will have no chance of securing the points they require to safeguard their Premier League status.

In fairness, O'Neill accepted as much, and the assessment he delivered in his final press briefing as Sunderland manager should serve as a useful mission statement for whoever is appointed to replace him.

“We have to be able to carve out some chances,” said O'Neill. “It is all right having pressure and putting balls into the penalty area, but it is no good if the final ball is not up to standard or we are making the wrong decisions.

“Those things have to improve, and when the players are playing under pressure, they have to choose the right options. We have talented players on the field and should eventually be able to start creating things. We should create more, no we have to create more. That is what we need to do in the last seven games.”

O'Neill is no longer the man charged with the task of overseeing that improvement, and perhaps that is just as well given the Northern Irishman's intransigent refusal to place any trust in Connor Wickham or even contemplate a radical tactical alteration.

However, with Steven Fletcher expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the season, the simple truth is that it is hard to see how anyone is going to get this Sunderland side scoring on a regular basis.

If penalties are ignored, Stephane Sessegnon is the leading goalscorer currently available with five goals, only two of which have come since the middle of December.

Danny Graham? Still to score his first goal in a Sunderland shirt. Wickham? One FA Cup goal and a strike on loan at Sheffield Wednesday this season. Adam Johnson and James McClean? Six goals between them, two of which came in the same game.

It is a desperate record, and while O'Neill's failure to adequately strengthen his attacking ranks and compensate for the departure of Fraizer Campbell, Ji Dong-won, Louis Saha and James McFadden in January must be questioned, the extent of the current squad's underachievement should not go uncriticised.

Earlier this year, the number-crunchers at Opta revealed that in the top five leagues in Europe, only German side Fortuna Dusseldorf had recorded fewer shots on target than Sunderland. Somehow, that simply has to change.

“If it is so blatantly in front of us, then everyone has to take responsibility for it,” said John O'Shea, when asked about the lack of goals. “Whether that's scoring from set-pieces or midfielders taking shots, compared to last season it's been a poor return for everyone.

“That's something we have to work on because we have to start scoring goals, creating chances and putting teams on the back foot. The games are running down and we have to get points on the board.”

Sunderland never looked like improving their points tally at the weekend, and while better sides than the Black Cats have been outplayed by Manchester United this season, the one-goal margin does not provide an adequate reflection of the gulf in class between the teams.

It was most evident in the first half, when the hosts' lackadaisical approach belied a lack of fight that was every bit as alarming as their attacking impotence.

Manchester United's players barely broke sweat before the interval, yet their dominance was pronounced and there was no surprise when they claimed the lead shortly before the half-hour mark.

Phil Bardsley afforded Robin van Persie far too much space in which to twist and turn, and after the Dutchman's strike had flicked off the full-back, it took an even heftier deflection off Titus Bramble's thigh before nestling in the corner of the net. “A double deflection? That pretty much sums up the way things have been going for us,” said O'Neill.

The visitors could, and perhaps should, have added to their lead, most notably in the 80th minute, when Simon Mignolet saved well from Alexander Buttner, and in stoppage time, when the Belgian produced an even better stop to deny van Persie a second.

Not for the first time in recent weeks, Mignolet was Sunderland's best player by a distance. He has not been letting his team-mates down; it is high time the same could be said for the players at the opposite end of the field.