MICK McCARTHY has warned his Sunderland squad to learn to deal with more of the same if the Black Cats are to stay in the automatic promotion spots for the rest of the season.

Sunderland were lucky to escape with their third win in five Championship matches at Nottingham Forest - a victory ensures they enter 2005 in second place.

It was exactly the sort of result, if not performance, that McCarthy demanded after losing at home to Leeds United on Boxing Day.

But Sunderland responded by claiming victory at the City Ground against a Forest side battling against relegation into League One.

"If you consider this game against Forest, we have played a team at the bottom and it's been nip and tuck all the way," said McCarthy, whose side go to Preston on Saturday.

"But we have got a lot of games left and each one of them is going to be like that. We are a scalp and we know that.

"We had 5,000 fans here and if we are in the top two they will want to do us even more.

"We had a bad day against Leeds but we have got back to work and that's what matters. We won the game and we are second. We will jump on the bus and we have three points. I'm not bothered whether anyone things we look like a promotion winning team or not."

Six players were booked, Gregor Robertson was sent off and both sides missed good chances in what was a strangely entertaining encounter.

Both David Johnson and Gareth Taylor missed unbelievable chances from close range for the hosts and they left Sunderland with the opportunity to pocket the points.

And McCarthy said: "For anybody who was a neutral it was a magic game of football. It was a very open game. It's easy to say that having won.

"Forest played very, very well. They were committed. Mick Harford had a team of his mirror image and they will scrap and they will have a go for the club. He organised his team very well.

"Better finishing and he would be a winning manager.

"I don't know how Johnson and Taylor have missed. That's the way football goes."

The Sunderland manager also heaped the praise on his goalscoring strikeforce of Stephen Elliott and Marcus Stewart.

Both ended scoring droughts and McCarthy said: "I have tried Chris Brown and Michael Bridges to try to get goals.

"But Marcus is a finisher and he has had his lean spell. I spoke to him recently and he told me he had more important goals in him and there's none more important than that one. He never doubts himself.

"Both of them haven't scored for a while. Stephen looked fresher."

Liam Lawrence is a doubt for Saturday's trip to Preston after leaving the City Ground with an Achilles injury.

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