Today's the day for Sunderland. Defeat at Preaton and a place in the record books is assured. The Northern Echo's Chief Sports Writer Steven Baker headed for Darwen, the club which holds the record for consecutive defeats - an unwanted accolade they have held for over a century, but one which has brought the tiny club a mountain of publicity of late.

DARWEN is the epitome of LS Lowry country. While Sunderland's Stadium of Light dominates the Wearside skyline, Darwen FC's home is difficult to find amidst a complex network of terraced houses - although the cotton mills that were synonymous with Lowry's era are long gone.

"Many people don't know where we are, but that's not totally our fault: the council would charge us £5,000 to put up a sign at the top of the road to tell where the ground is," said Darwen manager Steve Wilkes.

The little town is an anonymous dot on the Lancashire landscape, lost in the middle of Blackburn, Burnley and Preston.

The local football club, too, is dwarfed by its more illustrious neighbours. Their rich heritage counts for little in the North-West Counties League Second Division - effectively the English game's ninth tier.

This week, however, a venue more accustomed to hosting one man and his dog has been invaded by the world and his wife.

"It's been mayhem in the last couple of days - the battery went on my phone on Monday because I had so many calls - but it's been fantastic," Wilkes said.

For 104 years, little Darwen have had the must dubious of claims to fame. Now, mighty Sunderland are threatening their place in footballing infamy.

It is impossible to draw parallels between the two clubs that are at all favourable to the Darreners.

The Stadium of Light is British football's best new arena; the Anchor Ground is a ramshackle collection of dilapidated terraces and one rickety stand.

Sunderland's players are highly-paid professionals, with a handful of millionaires in their ranks; Darwen's players only receive expenses for their services.

And while the Black Cats' big-wigs watch their games in style and comfort, at Darwen everyone helps out to keep their beloved club above water.

"I make the sandwiches and I regularly wash the kit. We help to sweep the ground and cut the grass," said chairman Kath Marah.

It is difficult to picture Sunderland supremo Bob Murray running his Flymo across the Stadium of Light pitch, or his deputy John Fickling lending a hand in the kitchens.

But for 90 minutes today, and then possibly for the foreseeable future, Darwen and Sunderland will be inextricably linked.

Mick McCarthy may be sick of being reminded of it, but it bears repeating: lose at Preston North End this evening, and Sunderland would take one of the game's oldest and most unwanted records.

Eighteen defeats in a row. It seems inconceivable, but a 104-year-old mark set by Darwen in a catastrophic season could be equalled today.

The Darreners, however, are praying Sunderland finally shed the losing habit with ignominy beckoning.

"I'd like us to keep the record. If it were a recent record, we'd be absolutely devastated about it, as I'm quite sure Sunderland are, and I feel sorry for them. But it's that old that it's a quirky thing we'd like to keep," Marah said.

"People have said, 'Surely you don't want this record?' But why not? It doesn't upset me, and it's something no one would want in modern times.

"Having said that, my family grew up around Deepdale, so hand on heart I can't pray for a Preston defeat. I suppose I have to pray for a draw."

For Steve Wilkes, the Darwen manager, today's game has particular resonance.

He was a Preston player in 1987 and 1988, having grown up a North End supporter; he was even a ballboy there for four years before joining the club.

This evening, his two sons will take their seats at Deepdale, hoping to see history made.

And the fact that it is Sunderland in such a perilous position means Wilkes will keep an even keener eye on the game once Darwen's FA Cup preliminary round tie at Fleetwood is over.

"I'm very good friends with Kevin Kilbane, who was a YT lad when I was at Preston. He was 14 or 15 at the time," Wilkes said.

"I speak to him once or twice a year when we meet at functions, and the best man at his wedding works for me. He's a really nice lad and I wouldn't want him saddled with this record."

That stain will be on Kilbane's CV, and that of his teammates, if they lose at Preston.

Rarely can a match on the third weekend of the season have had so much riding on it.

And if Sunderland need warning of what might await them in 100 years' time should they lose at Deepdale, they need only look at Darwen's predicament.

The crowd for their first League game of the season, on Tuesday, was 78.

And you thought the Black Cats' sub-25,000 attendance against Millwall last Saturday was bad!