A SICKENED Mick McCarthy last night insisted his Sunderland's players had finally come to terms with life in the Premiership.

But, after watching his side outplay champions Chelsea before slipping to their 17th defeat of the season, the embattled Black Cats boss admitted it could be too little, too late.

Sunderland's first-half display was as good as anything they have produced since clinching the Championship trophy last May, with Liam Lawrence's 12th-minute opener threatening to produce one of the shocks of the season.

Goals from Hernan Crespo and Arjen Robben ensured that did not happen, despite the home side throwing caution to the wind in a frantic finale.

The quality of Sunderland's recent performances suggests they have finally found their feet after an early inability to compete in the top-flight.

With 17th-placed Middlesbrough some 16 points ahead of them, though, their improvement is unlikely to be accompanied by an avoidance of the drop.

"Individually, they are getting better and better," said McCarthy.

"It might prove to be a little bit too late for them but, for their own development and the development of the team if the worst happens and we get relegated, we will all be better for these experiences.

"They are starting to look like it (Premiership players), they are improving.

"I said to the players that I'm full of admiration for them.

"I don't know of any other group of players who could keep having these kind of disappointments, keep their heads up, and keep fighting like they are.

"They can take a lot of credit and, individually, there have been a lot of very good performances of late: Liam Lawrence, Steve Caldwell, Dean Whitehead, Kelvin Davis, Danny Collins - he's not even a left-back but he has done really well."

While initially unwilling to single out individuals, McCarthy reserved his strongest praise for the resurgent Davis.

Dropped in December after a string of disappointing displays, the former Ipswich goalkeeper pulled off a succession of impressive saves as Chelsea gradually turned the screw in the second half of yesterday's game.

A point-blank stop from Crespo was particularly impressive and, after ousting Ben Alnwick from the first-team, McCarthy is delighted to see his £1.25m recruit finally proving his worth.

"Kelvin has been a great character who has kept a positive outlook," he said.

"He has been a great influence around the place.

"He had a couple of games out which was the right thing, but he has come back and been excellent. He has responded well.

"That is what we saw in him, he was producing these kind of performances on a consistent basis for Ipswich last season. I'm delighted he has started doing it for us."

Tellingly, Davis was powerless to prevent the deflected strike that won Chelsea the game. Robben's strike was going nowhere until it was diverted by Dean Whitehead's head, with the end result underlining Sunderland's lack of luck this season.

"I'm sick we have lost but I'm pleased at the way we played and proud of the performance," added McCarthy.

"It's indicative of the fortunes of the two teams that a deflection won the game for them."

Read more about Sunderland here.