KEVIN KILBANE last night revealed the fear that is stalking Sunderland's season: "We don't want to be the worst team in Premiership history."

With Sunderland's hopes of staving off relegation almost nil, Kilbane is desperate for the club to avoid "beating" Watford's record low points total from the 11 years of the Premier League.

In 1999-2000, Watford picked up just 24 points - and Sunderland have only 19 from their first 30 games this season.

After seven straight Premiership defeats - another new Black Cats low - the prospect of Sunderland's Class of 2002-03 going down as the weakest top-flight team in recent times is looming large.

But Kilbane, 26, is keen for his team to avoid that ignominious tag as they approach their final eight matches - beginning with Saturday's trip to West Ham United.

He said: "We don't want to go under; we don't want to be relegated as the worst ever team in the Premiership.

"You don't want that on your CV, and those sort of statistics aren't good for you to see.

"You want to be a fighter, and I'm sure the lads are going to be fighting in every game we've got coming up now. I think we have to win seven games to stay up. It's a massive task and it's going to be difficult for us to do that.

"It's been a difficult task for the last five to six weeks, but we have to approach every game with optimism. I'm trying to avoid looking at the League table, but it's always in your face.

"It gets brought up at some stage every week and everything - points, goals for and goals against - doesn't make for nice reading.

"When you're doing well, you look at the table as much as you can; you're looking at who you've got to catch and who's behind you.

"But there's no-one behind us, and we're looking at how other teams are doing because we have to."

Tore Andre Flo will be watched by a Norway representative at West Ham United on Saturday as he closes on an international call-up.

Flo has scored just once in his last 18 Sunderland appearances, but he is in line to figure for Norway against Luxembourg on April 2 in the absence of the injured Steffen Iversen and John Carew.

Thomas Myhre's season is over after he had a thigh operation yesterday that will keep him out for three months. The Norway goalkeeper's aim is to be fit for pre-season training ahead of the 2003-04 campaign.

l Stephen Wright is expected to miss Saturday's relegation battle at Upton Park with the hamstring injury he picked up against Bolton