KEVIN PHILLIPS confessed last night that he feels under more pressure than ever as he tries to fire Sunderland to an increasingly unlikely survival mission.

The striker, who has scored 130 goals in his five and a half years at Sunderland, has carried the expectancy of the whole of Wearside on his shoulders during this disastrous season.

While his form has largely held up after an injury-hit start to the campaign, Phillips has been incapable of single-handedly lifting Sunderland out of the mire.

And with the Black Cats having scored just 19 Premiership goals this season - the lowest total in all four professional leagues - the 29-year-old admits he is being affected by his teammates' failure to hit the net more regularly. Phillips said: "I've got used to the pressure, but I feel it more now because of where we are.

"A lot of the expectation falls on me because I've scored so many goals here.

"I enjoy the pressure of having to score the goals, but I don't enjoy this kind of pressure. It's a different kind of pressure: you're more anxious and nervous.

"It's not something I'd like to go through every season.

"I know I've only scored nine goals this season but I've had my injury problems.

"I feel I'm near my best, if not actually back to my best, and it would be fantastic if I could go on a goalscoring run that would be enough to see us safe.

"But if there were other areas of the pitch that could chip in with some goals, that would be great."

Phillips insists he and his colleagues are remaining upbeat, even though six successive League defeats have left them staring into the relegation abyss.

Their next two matches, against fellow strugglers Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United, represent the Black Cats' final chance to save their Premiership skins.

But they have taken heart from the memory of the 1980-81 season, when Sunderland survived after being bottom of the old First Division with nine games to go.

Phillips said: "We can stay up. What happened in 1981 has been brought up in a couple of meetings.

"It's also been pointed out that other teams have been bottom at this stage of the season with the same number of points and escaped.

"It's going to be tough, but we're confident we can do it. It's in our hands, and we've still got to play the teams around us.

"If we can get maximum points against them, who knows? No-one here has given up hope.

"How we bounce back from the Fulham game when we play Bolton will be a test of our character and mental strength, but if we can win that we've still got a chance."

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