SUNDERLAND midfielder Liam Bridcutt insists Gus Poyet’s formation change is no excuse for poor performances after admitting the Black Cats are fighting for Premier League survival.

Poyet’s men sit one point above the bottom three going into Saturday’s crucial match against Burnley at the Stadium of Light with Sean Dyche’s men one place below them on goal difference.

Sunderland have failed to win in the league since the Tyne-Wear derby on December 21, and although they have picked up the odd point since, their position has become increasingly concerning.

Crystal Palace, West Bromich Albion and Burnley have all picked up vital wins to move them away from trouble over the past few weeks, but even the arrival of Jermain Defoe is yet to spark the Wearsiders into life.

The striker’s arrival has prompted the head coach to switch from his preferred 4-1-4-1 formation to play 3-5-2, but thus far the change has not proved fruitful.

Failure to beat Championship opponents Fulham raised further questions over whether Poyet has the right players to utilise the new system at the weekend. The Uruguayan has urged for patience from the stands as his players get to grips with the new system, but Bridcutt insists they won’t use the switch as an excuse for bad displays.

“Personally, I’m used to playing in a number of formations and as professional footballers you’ve got to deal with it,” the midfielder said. “It’s part and parcel of the game. It happens. New managers come in and change things. It’s just something we have to deal with.

“Sunderland is a big football club and the fans are a big part of that. I can understand why they are disappointed, but on the other hand we are in the same situation as them.

“We’re disappointed with ourselves when we come off the pitch and we know all we can do is keep going.

“We know we could be in a difficult position. We’re doing things right everyday and we’re trying to do it in games, but it’s just not working at the minute. “We’ve had a new signing in Jermain. That’s a positive signing and hopefully once he comes in and gets up to speed he can start scoring a few goals for us.”

Burnley were rooted to the bottom of the table before Christmas, but a run of only four defeats in ten games has lifted Dyche’s out of the relegation zone.

Defeat on Saturday could see either team fall into the bottom three and while both teams have drawn the most games this season, Bridcutt admits a point won’t do for Sunderland.

He said: “We know what Burnley are about. We know they are in a similar position fighting for their lives really and we know it’s going to be a tough game.

“They will make us work for the three points. We’ve been preparing this week for it and hopefully we will get the result.

“We need to start winning games. The teams around us now, everyone is starting to edge away and we need to start doing that ourselves.

“We know with a big performance against Burnley that we can start to turn things around and put a few more points on the table.”

The Black Cats will have little time to digest Saturday’s game before they head to west London for their FA Cup fourth round replay with Fulham.

The carrot of a fifth round tie against giant-killers Bradford City is on the table for whoever triumphs at Craven Cottage, and having seen the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City, Southampton and Tottenham crash out of the competition, Bridcutt admits Sunderland have a fantastic opportunity to go on another cup run.

“It’s always disappointing not to win and in a way looking at the results it’s a positive for us now,” the former Brighton man said. “We can go into the game with an extra boost.

“After last season’s cup run we want to get back to Wembley. It was a massive achievement for the club and we want to do that again.

“From last season, performance wise and results wise we’ve been a little bit better, but we know we can do better.

“The cup helped us massively last season, the results against some of the top teams gave us a huge lift and I think it edged us on to do what we did at the end of the season.”

Bridcutt was part of the side held by the Cottagers on Saturday, but with Lee Cattermole close to a return, the 25-year-old knows he must impress to keep his place.

He said: “Every game that I’ve played I’ve played well so I can’t do much more that that really.

“It’s just about putting in solid performances when you get the chance and hopefully the manager picks me.”

Sunderland have sold over 44,000 tickets for Saturday’s game with Burnley, while 2,000 have already been sold for the replay at Fulham on Tuesday night.

The Black Cats have allowed young striker Mikael Mandron to join Sky Bet League Two side Shrewsbury Town FC on a youth loan until the end of the season.