MICK McCARTHY has prepared his Sunderland stars for tomorrow's big showdown with West Brom by insisting: 'Lose this and you can kiss goodbye to automatic promotion'.

But a realistic McCarthy also conceded that success over the second-placed Baggies may still not be enough to secure a quick return to the Premiership when the points are totalled up come May 9.

Sunderland are eight points adrift of West Brom with a game in hand going into the all-important Division One fixture at the Stadium of Light. And, with leaders Norwich City also due to visit Wearside, McCarthy's men have not ruled out a place in the top two.

Easter Monday's 1-0 defeat at Ipswich - Sunderland's first reversal in ten league games - has severely dented their hopes of overtaking either of the teams above them. However, McCarthy will not give up. He said: "The only one chance we have of catching West Brom is if we beat them, it's as simple as that.

"I think that West Brom will get the points and win promotion anyway but if we beat them then who knows what might happen. Until it's mathematically impossible then we will keep going.

"If West Brom can come here and not be beaten then they will think that that's them up and I would think that's the case as well.

"Norwich and West Brom have been the best two teams and I'm not going to bemoan moments of luck that we may or may not have had during the course of the season. This is a real do-or-die game for us. If we don't win on Sunday then we have no chance of catching them. They won't need to look over their shoulders anymore."

McCarthy allowed his players a couple of days 'relaxation to recuperate' after the defeat to Ipswich - a game which brought to an end a run of four games in eight days.

Despite that loss Sunderland, if they fail to clinch a top two berth, are still on track for a place in the play-offs at the end of the season.

Even a spot in the top six should be classed as an achievement considering the massive squad restructuring job that McCarthy has had to oversee. But the Sunderland boss insists that, even when the club's incredible 17-match losing streak this year is taken into account, he always thought he had the playing staff capable of clinching a place back in the top-flight.

"A play-off position was always a target, even in August," said McCarthy. "I'm a greedy person, though, and I would still have thought about finishing in the top two back then as well. I still do now.

"I didn't take the job last March (2003) thinking we would be in a relegation scrap now. I believed I could turn this club around. I've been very fortunate that I have a good set of lads here.

"If you look at the two teams above us they had better preparation than us. West Brom may have came down but they didn't have the financial problems we had. Whereas Norwich have spent a few quid this season and they are reaping the rewards for that. The fact we are just behind them says a lot about the players I have got."

McCarthy and West Brom boss Gary Megson came across each other on a number of occasions during their days as players.

And the Sunderland manager fondly recalls the Yorkshire derby clashes between Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday.

"I never liked Gary because he was a good player. I mean that with the utmost respect," said McCarthy. "He was always competitive, I had lots of respect for him. Bearing in mind Barnsley and Sheff Wed at the time, my main rival was Sheff Wed and it was very intense.

"I have a lot of time for Gary, he says it as he sees it. Having gone down last year it would be a remarkable achievement for them to go up straight away."

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