MICK McCarthy last night confirmed that he was ready to make a new bid for Jon Stead, after admitting that the loss of Kevin Kyle was hitting Sunderland hard.

The Black Cats boss almost signed Stead last January, but after Huddersfield accepted bids of £1.2m from both Sunderland and Blackburn, the youngster chose to team up with Graeme Souness at Ewood Park.

He proved an instant success, scoring six goals in 13 games as Rovers mounted a successful bid to stay in the Premiership, but this season the 21-year-old has not found things so easy.

Stead has failed to score in any of his 19 games and Blackburn boss Mark Hughes has grown increasingly frustrated at his inability to find the back of the net.

McCarthy is hoping to sign the target-man on loan for the rest of the season - a pursuit which has been given extra impetus by Kyle's latest setback.

"I've been looking at Jon Stead all the time," revealed McCarthy, who will renew acquaintances with Crystal Palace tomorrow in the third round of the FA Cup. "I keep looking around at different strikers.

"There are some that might be available but, if I'm honest, there aren't that many. I'll keep looking and keep trying to improve us."

Kyle is due to see a specialist for the second time next week as he continues to struggle with the hip problem that has sidelined him since the end of August.

The Scotland international first picked up the injury in pre-season training and, when an initial series of steroid injections did not work, he went under the surgeon's knife in September.

That operation has failed to provide a cure and, if next week's consultation fails to find a solution, Kyle will need another operation that will rule him out for the rest of the campaign.

That would be a major blow to the Black Cats, as none of their other strikers are able to offer the same physical presence.

Both Chris Brown and Stephen Elliott strugglied against Gillingham's imposing defence on Monday.

McCarthy has been delighted with most of his side's passing play this season, but there are times when he would like the option of throwing a long ball into the box for Kyle to fight for.

"We won't know until Kevin's seen a specialist," said the Black Cats boss. "But he might miss the rest of the season.

"He allows us to change things. You can keep passing it, and keep moving it around but, at some stage, you need to have the option of throwing the ball into the box.

"It happens at every level. I was the manager of Ireland when we played Holland and, for the last 15 minutes, they were piling bodies into our box and throwing the ball in. This is the team that are supposed to play total football so if they need to do it every now and then, everybody does."

McCarthy can, at least, call upon the services of Matt Piper this weekend. The left winger put nine months of injury hell behind him on New Year's Day when he made his long-awaited comeback in Sunderland's 3-2 defeat at Preston.

A series of knee operations have taken their toll on the former Leicester star and, unsurprisingly, Piper has looked some way short of his best in his two outings so far.

McCarthy is confident he will play a key role in the second half of Sunderland's season, but has warned the club's fans not to expect too much, too soon.

"Matt's done okay," he said. "And, if he's fit between now and the end of the season, he will be an important player for us.

"He's been pleased with the way his knee has reacted when he's been playing. He's a good player - there's no question about that.

"Sometimes it can happen that you put a player like that on and they lift the crowd and you get an instant impact.

"But, if it doesn't happen on that first occasion, you generally find that it's bloody hard work for them to get back fully fit and to be fully up to Championship standard.

"You sometimes forget just how long he's been out for, but he's very pleased with his comeback so far."

* Former Sunderland midfielder Thomas Butler has been axed by Dunfermline after making just 14 appearances.

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