STEVE Caldwell last night launched into a passionate plea to Sunderland's boo-boys, urging them to put their love of the club ahead of any personal grumbles.

Despite failing to win any of their opening five league games this season, Mick McCarthy's men had enjoyed the unwavering support of the fans as they battled to escape the bottom three.

That support dissipated on Saturday though, as a calamitous 4-1 defeat to Portsmouth ended in a crescendo of boos and a mood of unrest.

Kelvin Davis bore the brunt of the criticism, with one fan running onto the field to remonstrate in person as the goalkeeper's every touch was greeted with a series of ironic cheers.

Caldwell admits to being sickened by the vitriol hurled in Davis' direction and, as thoughts turn to Saturday's visit to Arsenal, has pleaded for Sunderland's supporters to turn the jeers of derision into cheers of support.

"First and foremost, I cannot understand a guy who calls himself a supporter, coming on to the pitch and going face to face with our goalkeeper," said the Scottish centre-half.

"Kelvin is trying his best. Okay, so he might have made a mistake in the game, but he's clearly giving his all to the club. I can't see how someone can do something like that and still call themselves a Sunderland supporter.

"If someone did that to you in the street or in the pub, you'd smack the guy. Poor Kelvin has got to stand there and bite his lip. He can't lash out at him. I found it ridiculous.

"It's the same for the booing. It doesn't help us, it hinders us. It puts the players on edge.

"People say they're entitled to do that because they've paid their money but, if they want to come along and support the team, they shouldn't turn on the players."

By reacting so vocally in the second half of Saturday's game, Sunderland's fans were voicing a discontent that has been building gradually since the start of the season.

While Wigan and West Ham have forced their way into the top half of the table, Sunderland have spent just seven days outside of the relegation zone.

But, by turning the Stadium of Light into an emotionally-charged tinderbox, Caldwell feels the fans are hindering the players' attempts to remedy the situation.

"It's the same as last season," he said. "We couldn't win games at home early on in the season because the fans were nervous. As soon as anything went wrong, the players could hear them turn and start to get on their backs.

"We need their support. I've been in the North-East a long time and I know the fans wear their hearts on their sleeves.

"They find it difficult not to express their anger when things aren't going well, but if they want to help us, and I'm sure they do, they have to give us a bit of support.

"When we're playing great, in a way, we don't need the fans as much. But we really need the fans when things aren't going well, we need them to cheer and get behind us when we're struggling because it can be a lift for us and a blow to the visiting team.

"When they do that this is one of the best places to play football in the world. We need to have the old 'Roker Roar' again because we're going to have to play to our maximum to stay in this league."

Despite Saturday's problems, Sunderland remain within three points of safety as they turn their attentions towards this weekend's game.

A trip to Highbury is hardly the best way to bounce back from a heavy home defeat but, with expectations lowered, a point would represent a significant step forward.

That remains the minimum target, with Caldwell insisting that the current doom and gloom is unjustified.

"We won't be going to Highbury for a day out," he added. "We are under no illusions about what we are. We are a club which is going to be fighting with five or six other teams at the bottom of the table. But I can't believe everything is so negative.

"We're still very much in touch with those five or six teams. We're never going to give up this fight and it's nowhere near that stage. There are 27 games to go and a lot of points still to play for. We're not the type of players who give up."

* Aston Villa manager David O'Leary is desperate to shore up his leaking defence but, with a proposed takeover in the offing, it is a question of whether he will be in a position to strengthen come the transfer window, writes IAN PARKES.

Not for the first time this season, O'Leary watched in despair as his backline disintegrated in the 3-1 defeat against Manchester City.

O'Leary fears unless the situation quickly improves, then Villa almost certainly face a scrap to avoid relegation, with the club currently just two places and two points off the bottom three.

With Martin Laursen out until the summer with a knee injury, and Olof Mellberg and Liam Ridgewell currently struggling for form and as a partnership, the re-opening of the window in January cannot come soon enough for the manager.

O'Leary has been linked with a move for Spartak Moscow's Serbian defender Nemanja Vidic this week after undertaking a spying mission to Russia at the weekend.