GARY Breen has urged his Sunderland team-mates to let their feet do the talking when Championship leaders Wigan visit the Stadium of Light this afternoon.

The Black Cats were amongst the favourites for promotion when the season kicked off earlier this month, with players and management alike talking up the club's chances of bettering last season's third-place finish.

It is still early days, but one win from the opening four league games is hardly the start anyone was predicting three weeks ago.

Mick McCarthy described last weekend's 2-1 defeat at Plymouth as "the worst display" of his 17-month reign at the Stadium of Light and, while the Black Cats made partial amends with a Carling Cup win over Chester this week, there are still some wrongs to be righted today.

There were rumblings from Sunderland's travelling fans at Home Park, with some questioning just how badly the club's players wanted to recover from the blow of Paul Wotton's first-minute strike.

Breen's commitment to the cause has never been called into question, but the centre-half has warned his team-mates that their words will count for nothing if they do not prove their desire every time they walk onto the pitch.

"You can't fool the fans and we're not going to fool anyone," said the Sunderland skipper, who will link up with the Republic of Ireland squad after next week's game with Reading ahead of their World Cup qualifiers against Cyprus and Switzerland.

"I've always maintained that talk's cheap. You can say whatever you want in the papers - players do it all the time - but it's what you do on the pitch that counts.

"If you do it on the pitch, the fans will appreciate what you're doing - that's the way I see it.

"That's how I saw it as a fan as well. It used to drive me mad as an Arsenal supporter when players were saying 'I want to leave' or 'I'm going to do this'.

"If they weren't doing it on the pitch then it didn't mean anything. We were dreadful last weekend and that's not a performance anyone expects from a Sunderland team.

"For all our failing as a team - and a young team at that - one of them shouldn't be our desire and our determination to run about and put the effort in.

"Although the frustration's there with supporters because of what's happened over the last few years, I don't think they could ever point the finger last year and say that we didn't try.

"I'm not saying we didn't try last weekend, but we got overran and that was disappointing. That won't happen again."

Tuesday night's 3-0 win over Chester gave Sunderland their first clean sheet of the season but, while the Black Cats' defence was the bedrock of last season's promotion challenge, this term has already been littered with sloppy goals.

Defensive instability hasn't helped, with Ben Clark kicking off the campaign alongside Breen before being replaced by Steve Caldwell and George McCartney struggling with a calf strain.

Caldwell is still adapting to his new surroundings following his summer transfer from Newcastle but, while Breen admits it is taking time to forge an understanding with his new partner, he insists they must cut out the mistakes that have proved so costly so far.

"As a centre-half, it's probably harder playing alongside somebody new than it is for any other position because you need that understanding straight away," he said.

"If you're a centre forward its not so obvious, but if we make a mistake it'll probably lead to a goal.

"It's been really frustrating because we're conceding goals that we shouldn't be. I don't think it's been a case of teams ripping us open with great play, it's just been sloppy goals on our part.

"We've worked hard on the training ground and we're continuing to work hard all the time. It's still a case of building up understandings and it takes time.

"But I'll accept that we haven't got that much time because we'll be too far behind if it continues."

Former Sunderland centre-half Emerson Thome expects the Black Cats to be challenging for promotion by the end of the campaign.

The Brazilian, who made 44 appearances after moving to Wearside from Chelsea, will return to the Stadium of Light tomorrow with Wigan.

And, while he fully expects his new side to be amongst the leading pack come May, he also anticipates Sunderland playing their part in the promotion shake-up.

"I think around ten teams are capable of finishing in the top six," said Thome, who is expected to start on the bench this afternoon. "And I would include Sunderland and Wigan in that bracket.

"It will be good to come back to Sunderland and I hope the fans up there will give me a good reception. I always did my best for the club and I like to think the fans know that."