HE has been on Wearside barely three months, but it has taken no time at all for DeAndre Yedlin to understand the size of Sunderland and the ramifications of the club being relegated from the Premier League.

The young American international signed for the Black Cats on a season-long loan from Tottenham in a bid to get Premier League experience under his belt, and has quickly established himself as the first-choice right-sided defender under firstly Dick Advocaat and now Sam Allardyce.

The 22-year-old has made five appearances in a Sunderland shirt and, with the club at the foot of the Premier League table, Yedlin understands that a club the size of Sunderland needs to remain in the top flight.

The Northern Echo: TOUGH CHALLENGE: Brazil's Neymar, left, dribbles against United States' DeAndre Yedlin during the second half of a friendly soccer match in Foxborough

DeAndre Yedlin in action for the USA

“You see the passion of all the fans and just how much they care about the team,” said Yedlin. “The best example of this was against Newcastle. I’ve never been in a derby like that. It was an unbelievable atmosphere and unbelievable to see.”

When asked whether he appreciated the danger Sunderland find themselves in presently, Yedlin replied: “Of course. That’s something we all take note of. None of us want to go down into the Championship. We’re going to do our best to stay up.”

Yedlin had offers to play in the second tier but chose Sunderland as he preferred to have Premier League experience, and the learning curve has been steep – Sunderland have won just one game and have conceded 25 goals this season – but Yedlin feels his first months in the North-East have been valuable to his own development.

“For me, the first big thing is that I’m getting playing time. I think that for me personally that’s the most important thing,” he said.

“Obviously result wise we’d like to get better results, and I think it’s tough when a new manager comes in. You start to see things forming. There have been a lot of players brought in so people are still getting used to each other. Things will start to form and we will start to get on a roll soon.

“(Going into the team straight away) was huge. But I’ve got to play consistently. I’ve got to keep playing like I have done and the results will come. We’ve been unlucky – we hit the post twice on Sunday – the luck will start to fall our way soon.”

Bought by Spurs last season after representing the United States in the World Cup in Brazil, Yedlin played just 11 minutes of Premier League football in 2014-15 after being loaned back to his old club Seattle Sounders in the MLS.

The full-back, who can also play on the wing, has had to take the rough with the smooth in his short time at the club – the jubilation of beating Newcastle was immediately followed by a crushing 6-2 defeat at Everton in a game where neither wing-back came out with any positives to their name.

Yedlin readily accepts that Sunderland were not good enough on the day, in a game where Sunderland came back from 2-0 down only to see Allardyce’s side lose its shape and concede four further goals.

“We got too anxious,” said Yedlin, employed as a wing-back in an unfamiliar 3-5-2 formation at Goodison Park. “Nobody was really thinking right. We were 2-2 away at Everton, we fought back into the game so if we’d have come away with a point that would have been great.

“But we were anxious and we went for the win, there were times when too many guys were pushed forward, myself included, and left the back three by themselves.

“We got hit on the counter and from there, especially against a team like Everton who have so many guys who can hurt you, once they started getting on a roll it was tough to get back.”

In something resembling normality for Sunderland, Yedlin experienced a managerial change just two games into his Black Cats career, with Advocaat quitting after the 2-2 home draw with West Ham and Allardyce replacing the Dutchman two days later.

The new manager has a reputation for sports science and statistical analysis of games, and Yedlin believes that the changing of the guard on Wearside has been a smooth transition.

“It’s something you have to deal with as a professional,” said Yedlin. “As long as you stick to your game and you play the way you should play you shouldn’t have any problems.

“Every player knows exactly what he needs to do, and it’s up to the player on the pitch to execute.

“(The statistics are) presented in an easy way. It’s not overwhelming, it’s just facts and stats. You take it how you want to take it and use it to your advantage.”