ASHLEY FLETCHER admits it will be difficult to lift spirits in the wake of Tuesday’s crushing last-gasp concession to Norwich City, but the Sunderland striker is adamant no one will be throwing in the towel ahead of Saturday’s trip to Reading.

Ivan Pinto’s 89th-minute equaliser has been widely interpreted as the final nail in Sunderland’s relegation coffin, with the 1-1 draw having left the Black Cats six points adrift of safety with just four games remaining.

From a position where Chris Coleman’s side were set to make major inroads into the gap currently separating them from Bolton Wanderers and Birmingham City, they find themselves in a position where they could be relegated in two games’ time if they fail to win at the Madejski Stadium this weekend.

Sunderland’s players were clearly devastated as the final whistle blew on Tuesday night, with Lee Cattermole slumping on his haunches and Aiden McGeady appearing shell-shocked as he trudged back towards the tunnel.

Coleman was equally demoralised as he conducted his post-match press duties, but while Fletcher concedes Norwich’s leveller was an extremely damaging blow, he is still clinging to the fact that an admittedly-unlikely escape remains possible.

“We’re all absolutely gutted,” said Fletcher, who joined Sunderland on loan from North-East neighbours, Middlesbrough, on January’s transfer-deadline day. “We didn’t play as well as we have in the last couple of games, but to get 1-0 in front and then to show such a lack of discipline for the goal, it’s so frustrating.

“We’re aware that we’ve left ourselves with a huge mountain to climb, and coming in and seeing the other results just added insult to injury really. We played well against Leeds and were unlucky not to take the three points there, and then the same thing has happened against Norwich.

“We were minutes away from taking three points, but didn’t. It’s hugely frustrating, but the manager came in at the end and said we’ve got to somehow keep believing.

“It might seem daft, but it was a point gained on the teams around us. The games are running out though. It was a point gained, although it didn’t really feel like that at the time. You have to stay positive, though, that’s the attitude that all the staff and players have.”

Tuesday’s dramatic finale certainly felt like a defining moment, with Sunderland now needing to win at least two of their remaining four games to have any chance of clambering to safety. Realistically, they probably need to win at least three, and given they have only claimed six league wins in their 42 matches to date, that is clearly a monumentally tough task.


THE CHAMPIONSHIP RELEGATION RUN IN


BURTON (32pts)

Apr 14 DERBY (H)

Apr 21 Sunderland (a)

Apr 28 BOLTON (H)

May 6 Preston (a)


SUNDERLAND (33pts)

Apr 14 Reading (a)

Apr 21 BURTON (H)

Apr 27 Fulham (a)

May 6 WOLVES (H)


BARNSLEY (37pts)

Apr 14 BOLTON (H)

Apr 21 Leeds (a)

Apr 24 Nottm Forest (a)

Apr 28 BRENTFORD (H)

May 6 Derby (a)


BOLTON (39pts)

Apr 14 Barnsley (a)

Apr 21 WOLVES (H)

Apr 28 Burton (a)

May 6 NOTTM FOREST (H)


BIRMINGHAM  (40pts)

Apr 15 Wolves (a)

Apr 21 SHEFF UTD (H)

Apr 28 QPR (a)

May 6 FULHAM (H)


If you were looking for straws to clutch to, you could point to the improved performance level in the last four games as a potential source of positivity. Sunderland have played as well in the last three weeks as at any other time this season, although it probably says much that their upturn in form has still only secured five points from a possible 12.

If nothing else, Sunderland’s players are at least showing some belated fight, although even that is a double-edged sword. If they can muster some commitment and spirit now, why on earth was it beyond them in the rest of the campaign?

“That’s the most frustrating thing,” admitted Fletcher. “The last three or four games have been very different in terms of our performances. We obviously did well in the Derby game, and then we also thought we played well against Sheffield Wednesday, even though we didn’t get what we deserved.

“We went to Leeds and got a point, which should have been three, and then again against Norwich, we let two points slip. That’s four games where, if it had been earlier on in the season, we would have been looking more up the table than down it.

“Obviously time is running out, and it is getting late, but at the end of the day, we can only keep putting in these performances and hope that our luck starts to change.

“I don’t think anyone can accuse us of giving up in the last three or four games. I think we’ve put everything on the pitch, but things haven’t gone for us, especially in the last two games.”

That is true, although not for the first time this season, Sunderland’s players were their own worst enemies on Tuesday as Pinto scored from close range.

Time and time again this term, the Black Cats have failed to deal with a routine set-piece, and their defensive deficiencies ultimately look like being their undoing.

“I think there’s a number of things (that have gone wrong), but when it came to the equaliser, it was just basic marking really,” said Fletcher.

“Knowing who your player is and who you’re marking, that’s what it came down to at the end of the day. There were two people spare, and I think either one of the two could have finished it off. It was just a lack of discipline, and that’s not acceptable.”