DEAN Whitehead has urged his Sunderland team-mates to use Sunday's 2-1 defeat to champions elect Chelsea as the springboard for a second-half-of-the-season fightback.

Arjen Robben's deflected winner condemned the Black Cats to their 17th Premiership defeat of the season and left Mick McCarthy's men a mammoth 16 points adrift of Middlesbrough, the team currently occupying the final place above the drop zone.

On the face of things, Sunderland would appear to have little to play for between now and May, with their relegation to the Championship all but assured.

But, rather than accepting their fate, Whitehead is looking for the Sunderland squad to redouble their efforts in an attempt to atone for five dreadful months of football.

And, while last weekend's game might have followed a familiar pattern with the Wearsiders finishing with nothing despite more than holding their own, the former Oxford midfielder is citing Sunday's game as proof of Sunderland's ability.

"This has to be a bit of an inspiration for us now," said Whitehead, who continues to be linked with a possible £2m move to Liverpool before the transfer window shuts on January 31. "Chelsea will have left the Stadium of Light knowing they had been in a game. We gave our maximum, but we fell a little bit short.

"This gives us cause for optimism ahead of the West Brom game though. We had the champions pinned back for the last 20 or 25 minutes and there won't be many sides that are able to say that this season.

"We have to take that confidence into every game we play from now on in. They won't all be as hard as playing against Chelsea."

Despite the quality of their opponents, Sunderland's first-half performance on Sunday was as good as anything they have produced this season.

Liam Lawrence's 12th-minute opener was no more than they deserved for a spirited start and, while Hernan Crespo had levelled by the time the half-time whistle blew, the Black Cats received a merited standing ovation at they left the field.

Whitehead admits that his team-mates cannot play much better than that, and feels McCarthy's selection of a settled side is reaping its reward.

"I think the first half against Chelsea was probably as good as we've played this season," he said. "I thought we played well in the first half at Fulham, but I don't think we could have done an awful lot more in that 45 minutes on Sunday. To do that against Chelsea was particularly pleasing.

"We're starting to get a settled side now and starting to get a few players back from injury. Hopefully, that also means we can start to get some points on the board. That's the most important thing at the moment."

While Sunderland have undoubtedly improved as a team since the opening weeks of the season, Whitehead's transition into a proven Premiership performer has been one of their biggest success stories.

Alongside former Hartlepool midfielder Tommy Miller, the 24-year-old has not looked out of place against the likes of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.

"Some people have said I kept Frank quite quiet out there," laughed Whitehead. "I think they must have been watching a different game!

"He's an unbelievable player. No wonder he gets so many goals - he shoots from anywhere. I think you have to learn from playing against someone like Frank Lampard. I've played against some world-class midfielders this season and I really think that has helped me develop my game."

Meanwhile, Sunderland could be about to add to their ranks with the acquisition of French forward Lamine Sakho.

Sakho, who played on loan at Leeds two seasons ago under former Sunderland boss Peter Reid, has just completed a successful trial spell at the Academy of Light.

His current club, St Etienne, are looking to offload him and, while French side Strasbourg have also enquired about the 28-year-old Senegalese, the Black Cats' ability to offer Premiership football looks like sealing a switch to Wearside.

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