LEE CATTERMOLE insists it is important Sunderland keep their current struggles in perspective despite having slipped into the Premier League relegation zone last weekend.

Reeling from the continued fall-out from their humiliating 8-0 hiding at Southampton, the Black Cats were unable to get back on track as they slipped to a 2-0 home defeat to Arsenal six days ago.

The quality of their all-round display was an improvement on events at St Mary’s, but two dreadful individual errors still meant they slipped to their third Premier League reverse of a season that has nosedived in the last few weeks.

Memories of last season’s frantic battle against relegation mean the alarm bells start ringing as soon as Sunderland tumble anywhere close to the bottom three, but aside from the Southampton capitulation, Cattermole insists there is nothing to be too concerned about ahead of Monday’s trip to another side battling close to the foot of the table, Crystal Palace.

“We can’t get too carried away with a couple of bad results,” said the Black Cats midfielder. “We’ve all been here that many times. Results are the big thing, but as players you tend to judge on the performance.

“We went down to QPR and got beaten 1-0 and everything you read in the paper wasn’t great, but we actually dominated them from start to finish. They couldn’t get two passes together. That was an enjoyable game to play in, even though we got beaten 1-0. We felt we were there all the game, pushing. I know which team I would have wanted to be on.

“We’ve got to think about some of the positive performances and not get too downbeat about losing 2-0 to Arsenal. We’ve got to bounce back. We know how punishing the league is and we’ve got to look to move on as quickly as we can.”

That means turning in a solid performance at Selhurst Park, and Cattermole has no intention of holding back despite having racked up four yellow cards already this season.

Another booking would result in an automatic one-game suspension, but while he has worked hard to improve his disciplinary record in recent years, the 26-year-old regards the occasional yellow card as an occupational hazard of being a combative midfielder.

Other players have totted up more bookings this season, but Cattermole’s reputation means his indiscretions are always going to be seized on more readily by pundits and referees.

“I’ve played every minute of every game so far, so there’s a good chance I’m going to get booked,” said the Stockton-born battler. “Maybe that would have affected me more when I was younger but five bookings before December 31 – that’s maybe 18, 19 games.

“(Calum) Chambers got five bookings in the first seven games of the season without a mention, and Jack Wilshere and Jonjo Shelvey also missed a game.

“There’s been a couple I haven’t been happy with, but it’s part of the game, isn’t it? It’s basically not a problem, although I wouldn’t want to miss a weekend. If I miss a midweek, it’s not so bad, but a weekend disrupts your rhythm.”

Having come under significant pressure in the past to clean up his disciplinary act and reduce the number of red cards he received, Cattermole must have felt like he could not win when he was forced to watch the Match Of The Day pundits question his commitment as Sunderland collapsed at Southampton.

The BBC team highlighted his failure to track Morgan Schneiderlin as Southampton scored their fifth goal, but having already been booked, Cattermole made a conscious decision not to hurtle into the midfielder and leave himself at risk of a lengthy ban.

In the past, television pundits have urged him to display similar restraint. So it was somewhat ironic that Cattermole found himself accused of throwing in the towel when he would no doubt have received even more stinging criticism if he had picked up a second yellow card.

“We chased the game at Southampton and it went to four,” he explained. “I was on a booking and I maybe could have gone with Schneiderlin, but you live to fight another day. It got to an embarrassing stage.

“The most important thing for us was we showed have recognised when it was three or four, let’s get everyone behind the ball and not even look to get back into the game. Let’s just take 4-0, and get home.

“We’ll all learn from that, but it can change so quickly. Look at Newcastle up the road. That’s football. We’re looking to bounce back on Monday now and it’s a massive game for us.”