WITH Premiership survival little more than a theoretical possibility, Sunderland boss Mick McCarthy has warned his players they are playing for their footballing futures in the final 11 games of the season.

The Black Cats travel to Manchester City tomorrow looking for their third win of a hitherto calamitous campaign and, while victory could take them within 13 points of safety, even the most optimistic of observers are not anticipating the greatest of escapes.

The relegation run-in has already adopted a funereal air, but McCarthy has dismissed suggestions that the inevitability of Sunderland's fate will render the rest of the campaign obsolete.

While relegation will not precede the kind of financial upheaval that accompanied the club's last tumble from the top-flight, a significant squad overhaul is guaranteed given the extent of this season's struggles.

That will be an incentive to some and a source of insecurity to others but, whether players are looking to stay in the Premiership or simply avoid the axe, the Black Cats boss has warned that complacency could have devastating consequences for all involved.

"Everyone is fighting for something," said McCarthy, well aware that the likes of Gary Breen, Kevin Kyle, Grant Leadbitter and Martin Woods are all out of contract in the summer. "We are fighting for our careers.

"I'm not saying that careers will end.

"But the players have to be up for it and fight all the time if they want to improve themselves, whether they are trying to get into the team, trying to make me sit up and take notice or trying to move to other places.

"I'm not going to concede relegation and we will concentrate on getting as many points as we can before looking at contracts at the end of it.

"But everyone is fighting and scrapping for something or other, whether it's personal pride, pride in the job or pride in the club and the red-and-white shirt that means a lot to people.

"We have a chance to get points and do better at the end of the season than we have so far. The players have a chance to show they are good enough for the Premiership, be it with us or with someone else."

On the evidence of everything that has happened so far, there will hardly be a queue of potential suitors.

Dean Whitehead was linked with a possible move to Liverpool in the autumn - although his form has dipped considerably since then - while Julio Arca, Stephen Elliott and Liam Lawrence can all harbour realistic hopes of remaining in the top-flight.

Beyond that, though, McCarthy will look to hold on to his most promising youngsters while jettisoning some of his under-performing senior professionals to Sunderland's Championship rivals. Andy Gray is likely to be deemed surplus to requirements after dropping out of the first-team picture in recent weeks, while there must also be a huge question mark over Breen's future given the absence of contract talks with the Black Cats skipper since Christmas.

McCarthy is ready to build for the future - a mindset underlined by his promise of a new deal to Leadbitter, Woods and Dan Smith.

"It's never too early to look to the future," said the Yorkshireman. "Players contracts are always an issue and, when they've got a year or so left, you're often thinking about talking to them.

"There'll be some of the younger lads that we'll definitely be talking to - Grant Leadbitter's contract is up, as is Dan Smith's.

"They are both going to stay at the club and I've told them we want to do something with them. I've told Martin Woods we want to keep him as well. As for the others, though, we'll have to wait and see."

McCarthy's more immediate concern is overcoming a Manchester City side that won 2-1 when it visited the Stadium of Light in August.

That defeat underlined the scale of the task facing the Wearsiders and, since then, a variety of formations and line-ups have failed to arrest the club's dramatic decline.

Leadbitter is the latest player to have emerged as a potential saviour, with the 20-year-old having featured in Sunderland's last two league games following an earlier loan spell at League Two strugglers Rotherham.

The midfielder is expected to retain his place at the City of Manchester Stadium despite Tommy Miller's return from suspension and, while he is unlikely to have played had the club been riding high, McCarthy insists his current involvement has been earned on merit alone.

"Grant has been excellent for us," said McCarthy, who must decide whether to name Lawrence or Rory Delap on the right of midfield. "He's earned the right to be in and around the team.

"He went away to Rotherham and, when he came back, he looked a different lad.

"He did well in training and reserve games and earned his place because of the way he applied himself to the job."

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