NYRON Nosworthy admitted he is still fuming over the nature of last weekend's defeat to fellow relegation strugglers Birmingham City.

The 25-year-old defender was adjudged to have fouled Jiri Jarosik in the lead up to the Emile Heskey's match-winner at St Andrews.

Nosworthy believes the Czech international conned the referee into giving a free-kick.

Television replays back his view revealing minimal contact between the pair, and the Black Cats defender merely put out a hand to brace his own run.

But Jarosik took full advantage and his theatrical tumble concluded in Jermain Pennant finding the head of Heskey from the resulting free-kick as the Blues edged to within three points of fourth bottom West Brom.

If Sunderland's players and fans felt aggrieved at the initial decision then they were positively apoplectic when Chris Sutton took out Danny Collins - Heskey's marker - prior to the goal.

"I was thinking don't let him (Jarosik) beat me and get around me," reflected an angry Nosworthy. "But I didn't think it was a foul. I think he went down a bit too easy but I suppose that is part and parcel of football these days.

"Some players are a bit cuter than others and they will try to get free-kicks in good areas so they can punish you. He is quite cute with the football anyway and maybe I shouldn't have been so eager to stop him.

"But we haven't been getting any luck at all and it didn't help Danny being fouled when the kick was taken."

Sunderland fans could be forgiven for feeling they have been trapped in a perpetual Groundhog Day scenario given the club's continuing losing sequence, but then so does Nosworthy.

Should the inevitable happen and the Wearsiders go down then Nosworthy will be the unfortunate recipient of an unenviable double relegation whammy in consecutive seasons.

The Brixton-born defender suffered heartache last term when his former club Gillingham were unable to avoid the drop from the Championship. A 2-2 draw at Gary Megson's Nottingham Forest on the last day of the season wasn't enough to preserve their status and the Gills were consigned to League One.

Mick McCarthy may have rescued the defender from plying his trade in the third tier of British football, but this time around magician Paul Daniels might not save the defender from the drop.

Despite this, Nosworthy believes McCarthy is still the man to turn the club around and, after having his first taste of top-flight football under his stewardship, admits the Premiership is the only place to be.

"It does feel a little bit like Groundhog Day at times but you rarely get the chance to play in the Premiership and if we do well we'll get the chance to do it again," reflected Nosworthy.

"I have been reasonably satisfied with my own performances. I have come in hoping I've stamped some sort of authority to say I can play at this level. I know I don't want to play in the lower leagues again."

At 24 it appeared that Nosworthy's Premier League ship had sailed after seven campaigns outside the top flight. The defender felt otherwise, however.

"I didn't think I'd missed the boat, but I thought if it didn't happen when it did last season then I probably would have thought so," he admitted. "I always thought it would come once I had corrected a few personal things in my game and it did."

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