ANTON Ferdinand declared that his Sunderland teammates are under no illusions – the Black Cats are in a relegation battle.

 

Sunday's woeful 5-0 defeat at Manchester City confined Sunderland to their seventh defeat in ten games, in a run which has included an FA Cup exit to Notts County and insipid defeats to Stoke City and Everton.

Back to back wins against Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa in the new year saw Sunderland well-placed for European qualification, but a disastrous dip in fortunes since January puts the Black Cats just six points off the drop with seven Premier League games to go.

Ferdinand was part of a back four which struggled to deal with City's attacking trio of Adam Johnson, Mario Balotelli and Carlos Tevez on Sunday, and admits that Sunderland need to raise their game if they are to avoid relegation.

He said: “We have to be looking over our shoulders now. Definitely. The league is that tight now. But it's down to us as players to get back to winning ways.

“We need to look at ourselves, nobody else but ourselves, and we're going to have to do that on Saturday at home to West Bromwich Albion, a team who themselves are fighting for their lives.

Ferdinand played the full 90 minutes against City, in the first half against David Silva and Carlos Tevez, before switching to left-back at half-time where he was tasked with marking Adam Johnson. City's attacks, at times, were relentless, and Ferdinand was candid in his assessment of Sunderland's performance.

He said: “There aren't any excuses, we've all got to look at ourselves and get on with training this week and make sure we're going into Saturday positive and on the front foot.

“The result says it all. It's very disappointing, we haven't been beaten like that for a long time. We weren't good enough, but the beauty of football is that we've got another game around the corner. We have to sort ourselves out sharpish and get back to the way we've been playing before Christmas.”

From being candidates for Europe, Sunderland have fared poorly in recent tests against the top six. And while Sunderland's run-in, on paper, looks to be kinder, Ferdinand has warned against complacency, indicating that April's remaining games - against Albion, Birmingham City, Wigan and Fulham - will be anything but straightforward.

He said: “It is a factor that we've been playing the top teams, but if we want to be a top ten side, pushing into Europe, we've got to be playing against these top teams and we've got to be looking to get results at home and away.

“That's what Tottenham and Manchester City are doing. If we want to be compared with those clubs we have to start performing.

“West Brom is going to be difficult. By no means is it going to be an easy game. They're fighting for their lives which, if anything, makes it even more difficult. They're willing to run the extra mile and if we don't do that, we'll get turned over.”

There may be mitigating factors in the wheels coming off Sunderland's season. Some have pointed towards the departure of Darren Bent which has coincided with the Black Cats' dip in fortunes, and injuries to the likes of Michael Turner, Danny Welbeck and Lee Cattermole has given Steve Bruce cause for concern. That said, all three were involved on Sunday in what appeared to be Sunderland's strongest line-up in recent weeks.

The stark reality is this – if Sunderland fail to turn their fortunes around, they could be playing Championship football. A reality which is not lost on Ferdinand.

He said: “It's shocking how it has turned around since Christmas. Everyone was looking up, everyone was buzzing. We need to get back to that. Sunday wasn't good enough, and it's down to us to get back to where we were earlier in the season.”