RELEGATION, a sacked manager and endless speculation about an impending ousting of the board - for most players, the current situation at Sunderland will be a novel, if unwelcome, experience.

But, for midfielder Rory Delap, strife and upheaval have become constant companions. After surviving last season's south coast soap opera at Southampton, the Cumbrian is unlikely to be daunted by anything that happens in the final four weeks of the season.

Twelve months ago, the Saints' players were slipping into the Championship as their club imploded around them. Two different managers have disappeared since then, not to mention a former England rugby coach hovering in the background, while fans have been demonstrating against an unpopular chairman.

The similarities with Sunderland are obvious. For Delap, it has been a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire.

"I won't know what to do if I find somewhere where everything's stable," said the 29-year-old, who broke his Black Cats duck in last weekend's 2-2 draw at Everton.

"Upheaval is something that's part and parcel of football. If you're doing well the manager and players are being linked with bigger clubs, if you're not doing so well everyone's going to be linked with leaving. By now I'm used to most things.

"I obviously read about it, like everyone else, but I'm not really affected by it at all.

"I can't speak for other people, but what happened at Southampton didn't really affect me. Quite simply, we didn't do well enough.

"At the moment, Sunderland haven't done well enough either for whatever reason that may be.

"You can't blame that on managers and changes at the club. Once the 11 players go out on the pitch, there's nothing anyone else can do about it."

That upheaval has still claimed former manager Mick McCarthy, though, and a number of players are likely to follow the Yorkshireman out of the exit door this summer.

The identity of McCarthy's successor remains a subject of some conjecture, with last weekend's battling display having strengthened the hand of current caretaker Kevin Ball.

Three successive defeats had undermined Ball's claims to the post on a permanent basis, but the whole-hearted commitment on display at Goodison Park suggested the centre-half was finally moulding a squad in his own pugnacious image.

"Everyone knows that passion was a big part of his game," said Delap. "He's going to bring that into his coaching and management. Even if you're the best player in the world, it's not a bad thing to have.

"If you're a player, a coach or a manager, that first week can be awkward when you're suddenly thrown into it.

"Soon, though, you think you've been there years and I think that's the case with the gaffer. He's settled in and the way the lads are playing proves that."

The challenge now, of course, is to maintain that momentum over the final six games of the season.

Fulham visit the Stadium of Light on Saturday looking for their first away win of the campaign, while Sunderland still need eight more points to avoid being relegated with the lowest points total in Premiership history.

* Ian Porterfield, Sunderland's match winner in the 1973 FA Cup final, has resigned from his post at South Korean side Busan Icons. The 60-year-old had previously expressed an interest in the vacant managerial position Sunderland.

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