JULIO ARCA has conceded the harsh reality of Sunderland's abysmal start to life back in the Premiership boils down to a huge difference in class.

The Argentinian will be the only player in the Black Cats' squad this afternoon who is a left from the club's last sojourn in the top tier of English football.

Sunderland ended their 2002-03 campaign with the fewest points ever recorded in the history of the Premiership season, when they posted a miserly return of 19 points.

Goals were also at a premium during that ill-fated relegation year and the 21 scored remains a Premiership all-time low.

Sunderland head into today's encounter with West Brom knowing it is a fixture which offers the chance to finally end the ignominious top-flight losing run of 20 games.

Five of those have been this season, and fans' favourite Arca has been surprised with how things have developed during the two years' outside the elite.

"The Premiership has changed. I think it has improved since we were last in it three years ago," said the 23-year-old.

"New players have arrived and a lot of teams have gone forward. Chelsea have obviously improved a lot in the last three years, but teams like Charlton and Bolton have also moved forward.

"They are teams that were never thinking about Europe in the past, but now they are right up there challenging.

"Quite a few teams have improved dramatically in the last few years. Last time we were in the Premiership, we had a lot of experienced players. We had international players and players who had played in the Premiership for years.

"The difference, this season, is that the players are younger and a lot of them have come from a lower division. They did fantastic for the club last season, but everyone knew that this season would be more difficult. If we improve on conceding sloppy goals, though, I think things might turn around."

Arca also tried to reassure Sunderland supporters to stick with them - claiming results will change for the better at some point, hopefully starting today.

"The fans might start losing hope if we were to lose on Saturday. They expect their team to win every game," said Arca.

"They have to understand that things are different to last season. Then, we were flying and playing good football. This is a different situation. We need a win. The confidence is high, but a win would help a lot."

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