MICK McCarthy is not on the look-out for an FA Cup upset today, because the Sunderland boss feels there is nothing to choose between his Championship promotion hopefuls and Crystal Palace's Premiership strugglers.

The two sides are separated by just six league places and, were it not for a debatable refereeing decision in May, it could have been the Black Cats sampling the top-flight rather than Palace.

Sunderland had one foot in the First Division play-off final with just seconds of last season's semi-final second leg to go, but referee David Pugh allowed Darren Powell's injury-time leveller to stand despite Eagles forward Neil Shipperley climbing all over goalkeeper Mart Poom.

Palace went on to win a dramatic penalty shoot-out and Sunderland were left to contemplate another promotion push this season.

That push currently sees the Black Cats lying third in the table, but league concerns will be put to one side this afternoon when McCarthy's men look to embark on another FA Cup run.

Palace represent a significant obstacle to be overcome but, despite last week's impressive 2-0 win over Aston Villa, McCarthy does not think there is much of a gap between Ian Dowie's side and his own.

"There can't be much of a gap between the top of the Championship and the bottom of the Premiership," said the former Republic of Ireland boss.

"It's clear that there's not too much of a gap because it always seems to be the same teams that are up near the top of the Championship trying to get up or down near the bottom of the Premiership trying to avoid going down.

"You've probably got three different tiers in the Premiership now, although Premiership teams do get used to the intensity that you need in that league.

"That makes them better teams. I'm sure Palace this year are a better team than they were at this time last year.

"But Palace and Sunderland are certainly a lot closer than Sunderland and Chelsea."

Losing in the play-off semi-final wasn't McCarthy's only near miss last season, as the Black Cats boss also saw his side fall at the penultimate hurdle in the FA Cup.

Wins over Hartlepool, Ipswich, Birmingham and Sheffield United earned a semi-final showdown with Millwall, but Sunderland turned in a sub-standard display as Tim Cahill's goal took the Lions into Europe.

Playing six FA Cup ties pushed Sunderland's stamina levels to the limit and, in the final month of the campaign, the club's players failed to keep up with both Norwich and West Brom.

Many Championship managers see the FA Cup as a hindrance rather than a help but, despite last season's disappointments, McCarthy is on the look-out for more knockout glory this term.

"I don't think the cup run hindered us until all of the games came round at the end," he said.

"I didn't think it was a distraction to that point. It probably helped us because it caused a buzz around the place.

"At the moment it's a welcome distraction from the league. The way recent results have gone for us in the league, it will be nice to be away from that.

"I know it's still a game that we want to win, but we can all look at the league table at the end of this weekend and it will still be the same as it was whatever happens."

FA Cup third-round week is normally one of the highlights of the football calendar but, this year, the build-up has been shortened because of the packed festive calendar.

Like most Championship clubs, Sunderland were forced to play four games in nine days - a sequence that saw them pick up just four points.

Monday's dour draw with Gillingham was the perfect advertisement for a more even spread of games and, as well as reducing players' workloads, less New Year games would thrust the FA Cup into the spotlight at an earlier stage.

"Had Saturday been our most recent game, we would have been talking about the aftermath of the game on the Sunday and then the build-up to the FA Cup would have started on the Monday," said McCarthy.

"As it was, I didn't hear anything about the FA Cup until Thursday. Two days prior to the match, we were talking about the FA Cup ties - normally there's a week of build-up to them."

Sunderland will continue to pay the price for their Christmas exertions today. Skipper Gary Breen is definitely out with a leg strain, while both Julio Arca (knee) and Liam Lawrence (ankle) are extremely doubtful.

Midfielder Jeff Whitley is suspended after picking up five yellow cards, while Thomas Myhre will continue in goal in the absence of Mart Poom.

l Blackburn chief executive John Williams has told Sunderland that striker Jon Stead is not for sale.

Earlier in the week, McCarthy confirmed that he was monitoring Stead's situation after accepting that Kevin Kyle was unlikely to play again this season.

Williams confirmed that a manager had been in touch to enquire about Stead's availability but, despite the striker's failure to find the target in 19 games this season, his future still lies at Ewood Park.

"Mark Hughes received a phone call enquiring about Jon's situation," said Williams. "But he is not for sale."

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