SUNDERLAND will snap up highly-rated Derby County goalkeeper Mart Poom on loan this weekend.

The Estonian international has been lined up for a two-month loan deal, as Black Cats boss Howard Wilkinson tries to ease his goalkeeping crisis.

Third choice shot-stopper Jurgen Macho has played in each of Sunderland's last five matches after injuries to both Thomas Sorensen and Thomas Myhre.

And now Wilkinson has moved swiftly to arrange cover, though Poom - valued at around £3m - has not signed in time to play against Liverpool tomorrow.

And Wilkinson has revealed his delight at getting his man, he said: "I've been aware of Mart since he first came into English football with Portsmouth and I have followed his progress very closely at Derby.

"Jurgen Macho is the one with the shirt and the gloves at the moment and what happens from here is up to him, but he's in the driving seat.

"Mart is a top quality goalkeeper with lots of experience and I know he's very ambitious and keen to succeed. I'm delighted he has agreed to come and join us."

Wilkinson, meanwhile, insists his players have erased the fear factor, and banished the jitters that plagued their early season performances.

The Black Cats travel to Premiership leaders Liverpool tomorrow fresh from their first League win under Wilkinson - the 2-0 success over Tottenham.

And the Sunderland chief believes that a trip to Anfield will be no easy fixture for the Reds, who will be out to forget their Champions League exit.

"I hope we won't fear them," said Wilkinson, who has only tasted defeat once since taking over at the Stadium of Light last month.

"I hope that we have now got to the stage where fear is a distant memory.

"But we know when we go to Liverpool we will have to be on our metal."

Victory over Spurs last Sunday lifted spirits on Wearside but Wilkinson insists it was a display that was always going to happen.

But he believes it will be worth very little if Sunderland - in buoyant mood ahead of the clash - do not put on a good show on Merseyside tomorrow.

"I have sensed a mood change around the town after last weekend's result," he said. "But the win didn't have the dramatic effect that people might think it may have had on the players.

"I say that because I sensed that the players have been feeling happier with themselves.

"I think that's because they have been able to cope with what has been thrown at them every week."

Sunderland go to Liverpool knowing they have climbed out of the bottom three - a far cry from the depressing slump that they suffered during Peter Reid's last days.

But Wilkinson has not been shocked by the way the squad has responded to his first few weeks in charge. And the ex-Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds boss revealed that he always had the confidence and belief in himself to turn things around quickly.

"I have not been surprised by the way they have reacted," said Wilkinson, whose partnership with right hand man Steve Cotterill has got off to a great start.

"Maybe a few other people have been surprised but I certainly haven't.

"If I didn't think I could get the reaction I have out of them then I wouldn't have come.

"It would have been an awful job if I wasn't convinced I could do it."

During his days at Leeds, Wilkinson became quite good friends with Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier. And Wilkinson praised the Frenchman for the way he has guided Liverpool to the top of the Premiership.

"I've got to know him very, very well because he used to come over to Leeds a lot when I was there," he said.

"He is a nice bloke whose calm surface is certainly not lacking in passion.

"Being knocked out of the Champions League in midweek will focus them firmly on the job in hand because their route to the Champions League next season is no longer a dual carriage way.

"I'm not saying they are better than Arsenal now because only a good woman would come between two Frenchman. Both teams have got a very good chance."

Meanwhile, young winger Matthew Piper is included in the squad today but he will undergo a hernia operation on Monday.

Piper will be out for up to six weeks but Wilkinson believes the former Leicester man will come back a better player.

"He came to Sunderland with the problem as an aggravation," said Wilkinson.

"His ability to last 90 minutes has become non-existent. He was managing 50-60 minutes in games flat out and then he was deteriorating after that.

"To be fair to him we need to get him in because his confidence will suffer if he can't play at 100 per cent."

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