FOOTBALLERS are always talking about the strive for consistency and Sunderland have managed to find that over the last four years – of the unwanted kind.

Sunderland have started the season with eight Premier League matches without a win for the second year in a row; only Bury 111 years ago have ever managed to achieve that feat in back-to-back top-flight campaigns.

In fact the Black Cats have endured such a torrid start in three out of the last four seasons of struggle, even if the men from Wearside have eventually turned things around and beaten the drop.

A change of manager, approach and attitudes have been pivotal during those seasons and the worrying thing this time is that it is hard to envisage how this situation can improve any time soon.

David Moyes, only appointed in the summer, should be given the time to try to lead Sunderland through calmer seas because it does seem that years of constant change have caught up with the club this time. He is not blameless for the position they find themselves in, though, having spent money on some players who were clearly not ready to become first team regulars.

Sunderland are in desperate need of more than a short term lift, but Moyes must firstly come up with a way of keeping the fans – with a section showing the first signs of real frustration towards him – onside ahead of two more league games against West Ham United and Arsenal when it is hard to picture them winning.

There is a more youthful feel around although a lengthy injury list, that has seen Patrick van Aanholt’s name added to it after he was withdrawn in the first half with an adductor strain, has not helped Moyes’ cause.

Only van Aanholt, Wahbi Khazri and Jermain Defoe started at the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday of the team that memorably defeated Everton to preserve Premier League status in May under Sam Allardyce. That night feels a long time ago now.

Khazri said: “The manager, the team ... we have four, five or six new players … have changed. We need to run more. I don’t really know what it is. If I had the solution, I would give it to the team. It’s the job of the manager and the team to work every day to get the first win.”

Joe Allen’s two first half goals, which could easily have been prevented from a defensive point of view, condemned Sunderland to a sixth league defeat from eight matches. It has left them staring at a four-point gap to safety and as the supporters jeered the players and the manager as they walked off the pitch, it was clear that the mood is deteriorating.

Khazri said: “The fans are amazing. Since I came to Sunderland last season, I think the fans have been amazing every game. The team is not the same as the fans and we need the team to work to be the same as the fans.

“I don’t know (if there is enough quality to get out of trouble). I think the team has quality. We have new players from last season. We need to get to know each other. We need hard work and to put our heads down.”

Khazri has had to bide his time under Moyes. The manager was reluctant to pit him into action because he felt he could work harder and he was disappointed that he had returned for pre-season training overweight.

He was one of Sunderland’s most positive players at Stoke, recording the only shot on target from a free-kick and looking purposeful, but he wasted possession on far too many occasions by making the wrong decisions.

Poor decision making has been the story of Sunderland’s season and even though there were defensive improvements, Allen’s two goals were both the result of weaknesses at the back.

Sunderland had started brightly but Didier Ndong gifted possession to Xherdan Shaqiri and he sent Marko Arnautovic in behind the Sunderland defence. The Austrian picked out Allen in the six yard box to nod beyond Jordan Pickford in the eighth minute.

Defoe went close with a drive over the bar after turning Ryan Shawcross when he ought to have hit the target, but other than that Sunderland never looked like ever clawing back in to the game.

The points were effectively wrapped up seconds before half-time. Ndong and Paddy McNair wasted possession again in the middle and that led to Pickford conceding a corner when he made an excellent save to deny Erik Pieters.

From the resultant flag-kick, John O’Shea’s half clearance ended up dropping invitingly for Allen and he directed a cushioned left foot finish inside Pickford’s bottom left corner when Ndong didn’t close him too quickly enough.

Stoke could have added more after that, Pickford made a few saves and Charlie Adam hit the bar, and the afternoon ended with the travelling fans near to the tunnel blasting certain players and Moyes as they headed for home.