HE may boast just six senior starts but Martin Woods is already becoming something of a specialist when it comes to relegation campaigns.

While Sunderland's current plight hardly inspires confidence, the teenage midfielder has seen enough to know that the situation could be an awful lot worse.

Woods' first taste of professional football came as his former club, Leeds, crashed out of the Premiership last May.

The Yorkshire club came close to bankruptcy as debts of more than £60m exacerbated the effects of relegation into the Championship and forced the sale of a host of first-team stars.

The situation bore stark similarities to the upheaval experienced by Sunderland as they tumbled out of the top-flight 12 months earlier.

Back then, the club's entire future was on the line but, with financial stability assured no matter what happens in the final six months of the season, Woods sees the Stadium of Light as the perfect environment in which to mount a survival campaign.

"I was involved in squads when Leeds were getting relegated from the Premiership and the atmosphere here is completely different," explained the 19-year-old.

"This is a million miles removed from being another Leeds. Leeds were in freefall when they went down. The money situation was awful and so much was happening off the field.

"People were constantly asking 'Are they going to survive' or 'Are Leeds even going to exist next week?'

"There was no money, they were on the brink of liquidation and the players were constantly worrying about whether they were going to be paid.

"You don't have any of that here. There's stability at Sunderland and that means we can concentrate on playing our football and moving up the table. It's much more upbeat and the lads are more confident."

Nevertheless, results on the field continue to plunge the Black Cats deeper and deeper into crisis.

Last weekend's 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa made it 17 successive Premiership home games without a win and left Mick McCarthy's men five points from safety at the foot of the table.

Woods was a second-half substitute as Sunderland capitulated and, after being asked to play at left-back, the youngster hopes his efforts will have earned him an opportunity in his preferred midfield role.

"I want to be a success here at Sunderland," he said. "If I could get a run in midfield, I'm sure I could prove myself to everyone.

"My hopes have not changed since the start of the season - I want to get in the side and play a few games. I knew it was going to be hard to force my way in but I've always backed my ability and I want to prove my worth.

"At Leeds last year, the circumstances were completely different. The manager didn't rate me and I didn't see eye to eye with him at all. I could have done anything in training and I still wouldn't have been given a chance.

"I had to move on, otherwise my career would have gone nowhere. I came looking for a fresh start and, thankfully, that's exactly what I got."

McCarthy backed Woods by offering him a one-year contract in July and, with the Black Cats boss coming under increased pressure because of his side's dreadful run, the Scotsman is keen to repay the favour.

"The manager's doing a great job," he claimed. "It's not the manager's fault.

"The players are the ones on the pitch - the manager can only do so much.

"It's the players on the pitch that have to turn things round.

"The last couple of games have been poor, nobody's going to deny that, but things can change.

"If we can turn things round, the gaffer will be hailed as a hero. That's the reality in football."

Read more about Sunderland here.