Sam Allardyce has admitted that Sunderland are "relegation favourites" following their defeat to Southampton in the Premier League.
The Black Cats sit 19th in the table following the 1-0 loss at the Stadium of Light, having picked up just six points from their 12 fixtures so far.
The manager, who was appointed last month following Dick Advocaat's resignation, told the Sunderland Echo: "We are relegation favourites because we are in the bottom three and getting out of the bottom three is a long haul now.
"When you have got fewer points than games, as many fewer points than games as we have got, then we have got a mammoth task just to get out of the trouble we are in at the moment.
"What I want to try to do is not have one of those end-of-the-season desperations that this club has become used to over the last four years where if you don't win four out of the last six, you are going to get relegated."
Sunderland have finished in the bottom half of the table in the last four seasons.
