A CONFIDENT Julio Arca believes Sunderland have only delayed the inevitable by failing to climb into the Championship's top two.

The exciting left-sided South American claims there is every chance that the Black Cats can force their way into the automatic promotion places by winning at relegation candidates Nottingham Forest this afternoon.

Sunderland missed an opportunity to overtake Wigan and move level with leaders Ipswich on Boxing Day by losing 3-2 at home to Leeds United.

All three teams lost at the weekend in what was further proof of inconsistencies that are hampering sides' aspirations of playing in the Premiership next season.

Reading made the most of the slip-ups and climbed over Sunderland into third place, and there is a real four-way tussle at the top of the table, while those occupying play-off places also closed the gap.

But Arca insists Mick McCarthy's men will be one of those going up automatically come May, although there could be a couple of hiccups along the way.

"It was a good chance for us but we lost that chance. We could have been top and we know that. That did make the defeat worse to Leeds, but there's nothing we can do about it," said Arca.

"It's gone, finished. What we have to do is make sure that we go to Forest and hope another opportunity comes up like that.

"But there's a long way to go and I do think we will get in the top two. I've seen nothing really better than us to make me feel anything else.

"Reading have been doing well this season and it's no surprise to see them winning more games and being up there with us. I watched them beat Watford and they played very, very well. But we have not got to think about what other teams are doing - it's up to us."

The trip to the City Ground today, with Forest two points adrift of safety after winning just four games this season, will be Sunderland's second of four matches over the festive period, with Preston and Gillingham on the horizon over the next seven days.

Arca suggested the number of games do begin to take their toll on the playing staff but he refused to use that as an excuse.

"There are too many games and they caught up with us, but every team in this division has to play the same number of games. We know how many games we have to play and we have to be ready for those," said the 23-year-old.

"We have to get as many points as possible and it's important we don't slip up many times like we did on Sunday.

"We have shown before that we can come back from bad results. When we lost at home to West Ham we then went to Cardiff and played Burnley and beat them both. This team has high confidence and every player has that. They will all be desperate to put things right at Forest."

Sunderland have won five of their last seven games and that form was the main factor in such a large crowd turning out on Wearside on a cold Boxing Day.

There were 43,253 there to see Sunderland lose to Leeds and that was the largest league attendance at the Stadium of Light in over 20 months - dating back to the club's Premiership days.

Arca, well aware that most home games have had below 30,000 this season, hopes that those who turned up do not fall away as the season reaches a crucial hurdle.

"There was disappointment in the dressing room on Sunday because we lost in front of a huge crowd," said Arca, who scored a superb free-kick in injury-time.

"There were 43,000 there and to lose in front of them is hard. We feel really sorry. We wanted to win for them but we couldn't.

"It's great to see all the people coming back to the stadium. I remember seeing it against Hartlepool in the FA Cup last season. It's good to see when there is a near full ground.

"It's up to the people whether they come or not. All we can do is play well and hopefully they will keep coming back."

l Leeds United have suspended John Oster and Jamie McMaster following alleged breaches of club discipline, wrties JACK LESLIE.

The pair were suspended by boss Kevin Blackwell on Christmas Eve following an incident at the club's official festive party last week.

Blackwell said the duo were set for showdown talks on Friday.

''We have suspended them pending further enquiries,'' he said. ''We are conducting our own internal investigation. Until that is concluded and we have met with the players again there is nothing further I can say.''

Oster, who is on loan from Sunderland, was arrested outside a Durham nightclub two weeks ago. He was released without charge but fined by Leeds and warned about his future conduct.

It is thought Leeds will take a hard-line stance when 26-year-old Oster and McMaster return to the club to learn their fate on Friday.

Following Oster's nightclub incident Blackwell stressed he would not tolerate off-field trouble.

Leeds could opt to end Oster's loan arrangement while 22-year-old McMaster could face a substantial fine and a warning about his future conduct