IN the absence of a "magic wand", Paul Thirlwell last night promised Sunderland would dig deep rather than mope about as a place in footballing infamy beckons.

Defeat at Preston North End this Saturday would see Sunderland match Darwen's record for the most consecutive league losses, set 104 years ago.

Mick McCarthy has dismissed talk of the approaching landmark, claiming it is not affecting him - but Thirlwell confessed the players are aware of it.

Thirlwell, Sunderland's stand-in captain in the 1-0 defeat to Millwall, told his teammates they must not feel sorry for themselves.

But with the game at Preston now taking on such massive significance, the midfielder insisted they were prepared for a week of tough graft.

Thirlwell said: "We're aware of the record when we read about it, but we just have to get on with it.

"There's no point moping about and thinking about this or that record. We have to put it right on the pitch and I'm sure we'll do that.

"None of us have a magic wand. I know it's a clich, but we just have to keep working hard and try to crack it.

"If I knew what we were doing wrong, it would be easy to put it right. But we haven't given ourselves a chance in the last two games.

"We played well at Nottingham Forest but we conceded two sloppy goals, and we gave away another sloppy goal here. I think we have to start well and try to get a foothold in the game, and try to get the first goal.

"We came back this summer with a fresh start. We haven't had a good start, but we're still hoping to get right amongst it."

McCarthy was full of praise for Thirlwell, who supported Sunderland as a boy and has been at the club for his whole career.

With captain Jason McAteer injured and deposed skipper Michael Gray on the bench on Saturday, the Sunderland boss was delighted with the 24-year-old's response.

McCarthy said: "I thought Paul Thirlwell was different class. At difficult times, he got the ball down and passed it very simply.

"What he didn't do was put his foot through the ball; he sprayed it wide or tried to get it to a frontman.

"I was very pleased with him. Maybe he was surprised to be captain, but he responded to it and played well."

Thirlwell admitted he was "honoured" to skipper Sunderland in the absence of McAteer and Gray, but the defeat took the shine off his big day.

He said: "I only found out I was going to be captain an hour before the game. It was a great honour but I'd rather it had been a win.

"I really enjoyed the day and I really enjoyed being captain - apart from the result."

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