GOALS have been in short supply on Wearside all season so Connor Wickham thinks it is understandable that Sunderland’s strikers take their large share of the blame.

And the fact the Black Cats have scored just twice in their last six matches since last winning at Fulham in the FA Cup in early February has merely heightened the problem.

Wickham, struggling to find the net on a regular basis himself, accepts the forwards need to take the large share of the burden, which has contributed to having the second worst scoring record in the Premier League since the start of the campaign.

A failure to improve on a tally that reads 23 from 28 matches – only Aston Villa’s dreadful 15-goal return is worse – could quite easily result in the Black Cats falling back in to the Championship for the first time since 2006.

And Wickham has offered up very few excuses. He admitted the situation needs to take a turn for the better and feels there are signs things are getting better in front of goal, despite the ongoing struggles to find a way past the opposition goalkeeper.

“I wouldn’t say the criticism of the strikers is unfair,” said Wickham. “Strikers are going to get the most at any club because they are the money-makers, they are the ones that the fans are relying on to score the goals. That’s where the criticism can come.

“Chances come and you do need to put them away. We are creating chances. The way we set up, we are setting up to attack at times when we get the ball. We do try to break as quickly as we can when we get the ball.

“We have done it in games but we have to get more consistent with it and get in to the box more. We will climb away from the rest of the group down there if we can start to put our chances away.”

Wickham’s goal against Burnley on January 31 was the only time this year he has found the net; that was also the only outing in the Premier League in 2015 which has heralded three points.

It could be argued the 21-year-old’s form has suffered because of a switch of positions. Gus Poyet has tended to play him out wide rather than through his preferred central role, while he has not started matches on a regular basis for a while.

“That’s (playing up front) what I have done all of my career,” said Wickham. “The gaffer has asked me to play on the left for the majority of the season and I am confident, I know I can do it. I am not going to mope around about it.

“It suits my game more to play through the middle but if I am in the manager’s plans on the left then so be it. Since I started to play first team football, the game has changed massively. You have to be able to adapt.

“If you play centre-midfield you have to be able to adapt if you are asked to play on the right, left or at right-back, you have to try to do a job and adapt to circumstances in the game.

“The manager has asked me since the start of the season to play out wide, to do a job out there and I think I have done it well at times. I am confident in that position and if I was asked to play there in the coming weeks then that’s fine.”

Sunderland are in desperate need of a lift at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, when Poyet knows his side’s chances of survival can receive a big boost if they can secure a much-needed win over a Villa side lifted by the appointment of Tim Sherwood.

But Wickham said: “There’s no nervousness going in to this game. They have won two on the bounce and that’s good for their confidence. We know they are beatable. We have broken teams down and we can do it again."

If Sunderland can find a welcome boost by picking up the points against the Villans then it could be that the four-point gap they hold to third from bottom QPR is increased to seven ahead of the final nine matches of the season. The hope among the players is that the fans stick with them.

Wickham said: “Football is never as simple as that. Teams have been beaten over the season when they have expected to win. We have to focus on the Premier League and staying up.

“We understand the fans want good football and to win matches. This season has been different to other years because we are trying to play the ball around and get it down, which can frustrate fans because we are not just going on the attack, but there is an idea behind it.

“It is hard when we get frustrated with us but we need them to stand by us. They are the best fans behind us when they are behind us. We need them to get behind us as much as they can.”

Sunderland, meanwhile, have handed first professional contracts to Rees Greenwood, Jordan Blinco, Michael Ledger and James Talbot after impressing for the Under-18s.