SUNDERLAND boss Niall Quinn expects to have at least two new signings in the squad to face fellow promotion hopefuls Birmingham on Wednesday night.

The Black Cats kicked off their Championship campaign with a defeat at Coventry yesterday, with Quinn admitting that a culture of defeat had infected his players following last season's calamitous tumble from the top-flight.

Veteran centre-half Kenny Cunningham was the only summer signing to feature at the Ricoh Arena but, with Birmingham due to visit the Stadium of Light in two days' time, Sunderland's new manager is determined to add more new blood as quickly as possible.

"We hope to have a couple in place who will come into contention for the Birmingham game," admitted the Irishman, who refused to be too downbeat despite making a losing start to his managerial career.

"Ultimately, before the end of this transfer window, I would like two players fighting for every position. That's my aim.

"I have a lot of good players here but I have to increase competition, give the squad more depth and push every player who comes and puts the shirt on.

"We need self-belief and a few more people in the squad. With those, I think we will take off."

West Ham full-back Clive Clarke is expected to complete a move to Wearside within the next 48 hours, in a deal that should see left-back George McCartney moving in the opposite direction to Upton Park.

With a deal for Arsenal youngster Anthony Stokes also understood to be at an advanced stage, Quinn will contact new Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill later today in an attempt to step up his pursuit of former Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips.

Given the scale of his achievements during his first spell at the club, Phillips would be a welcome arrival were he to return to the Stadium of Light this month.

But, on the evidence of yesterday's defeat, Quinn urgently needs to address the deficiencies that exist at the other end of the field before he looks to bolster a strikeforce that already includes Daryl Murphy, Jon Stead, Kevin Kyle, Stephen Elliott and Chris Brown.

Stern John's equaliser might have been almost impossible to defend against, but Coventry's winner, in which Sunderland's players twice failed to react to a quickly-taken Stephen Hughes free-kick, arose from some unforgivably undisciplined defending.

"In fairness, I can't complain too much, not at my players' attitude or performance levels," said Quinn. "There was nothing we could do about a world-class goal from Stern John. That's fine, you take that.

"But my players will know that, once again, just a tiny lack of professionalism at a crucial moment late on in the game has cost them.

"It's a little glitch that's in there and I have to get it out of this club very quickly. It's intelligence, it's professionalism, it's something minute that leads to big problems.

"If Coventry had had to work really hard, if someone had beaten four players, crossed the ball and someone had headed it in, I would say 'fine' and hold my hands up. But it was a give-away goal."

" I don't want to entirely drown what my players are capable of and how good they can be. But, at times, it can. It did last year and we will work at getting that out."

In future, Quinn will also be asking his midfielders to keep pushing forward if they find themselves defending a lead.

Last season, Sunderland's playmakers found themselves sitting on their own 18-yard box as the majority of games wore on. This term, Quinn wants his side to attack at every opportunity, rather than dropping ever deeper as they eventually did in yesterday's defeat.

"In their minds, they believe they threw away three points and they are very disappointed with themselves," he added.

"I have to make them aware that it was their hard work that got them into the position to win it. If we go a goal up on Wednesday night, I will be screaming at them to go and score a second.

"Subconsciously, I think there's a history of them dropping onto the back foot and we have to get them more attack-minded."