MARTIN O'NEILL insists he still has the drive and enthusiasm to lift Sunderland out of the doldrums by making sure Premier League football is played at the Stadium of Light for a seventh successive season.

Seven matches without a win has left the Black Cats hovering too close to the relegation zone for comfort ahead of tomorrow's visit of runaway leaders Manchester United.

The unwanted run of form has left Sunderland nervously clinging on to a four-point gap with United, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Everton on the horizon before a testing trip to fellow strugglers Aston Villa.

And this week's news that neither leading goalscorer Steven Fletcher nor influential skipper Lee Cattermole will play in the run-in has increased worries around the Wearside club.

But O'Neill, accused of lacking his usual spark in the immediate aftermath of the draw with ten-man Norwich City, insists he has the fire in his belly to lead Sunderland through brighter times.

“Am I as still determined? Enthused, about the game? Deep down I don't think I analyse this every day, but, actually, yeah. It is the enthusiasm you have to have for the game, otherwise don't do it,” said O'Neill.

“If you are to ask Sir Alex Ferguson what keeps him going at the age he is – obviously going in to a work with a brilliant team does help – but it's that incredible enthusiasm he has, that he still retains, and I think you have to have that.

“The minute you lose that … you can talk about determination and everything else, but I think they are secondary to enthusiasm to come in to do it.”

He added: “I am what I am. If you are expecting me to step in to a press conference after performing in the manner we did against Norwich and be jocular then you would tell me I needed my head examined.

“As a player I always concerned myself with losing matches, same as a manager. But it can not last forever. I don't know who was saying I was downbeat. That's their opinion.

“If you are telling me that I am downbeat, I don't see it in that manner. I genuinely don't see it. Am I cracking jokes every three minutes? No, I'm not doing that either.”

This will be the first time since stepping in to management at non-league Grantham in 1987 that O'Neill has had significant relegation concerns going in to the Easter period.

But he understands that Sunderland's fans are desperate for him to deliver in the final eight matches of his first full season in charge – and believes he is still the man to do deliver. He said: “I accept that. Absolutely.”

And he added: “Last season I came in here with more games to play with, the team had played 14 games and had dropped in to bottom three. You always felt you could get something going and we could maybe pull out of trouble. There's tough games ahead this season but exciting ones to be involved in.”

O'Neill, as a boyhood fan of the club, is well aware that next month will mark the 40th anniversary since Sunderland won the FA Cup: the club's last major trophy success.

And he thinks such a drought could actually be one of the main reasons why supporters are quick to air their disappointments when things are not going well.

“I actually think the fans have come in big numbers here to support,” said O'Neill. “We have not given them a great deal to support all season. They are entitled to be frustrated.

“Personally speaking, and I said this at a little forum with the fans on Wednesday, this is years of pent up frustration that Sunderland have not won a trophy for 40 years.

“In fairness our near neighbours, who are doing well in the Europa League, have not won anything for a long time either. That could be a North-East pent up feeling. If that comes out in explosions of pent up frustration then I understand it. We have to do better to serve it up.

”If things are not going well, a couple of miss placed passes, anxiety can set in. We don't want the players to play the ball the crowd want them to do. They have to retain the composure to play the ball they see fit. That's not just difficult here, that's difficult at Anfield, difficult at Old Trafford.”

O'Neill is hoping individuals like Danny Graham and Connor Wickham can step up and “make the most of the opportunity” in the absence of 11-goal Fletcher between now and the end of the season.

But he does have concerns over the fitness of Carlos Cuellar (ankle), Stephane Sessegnon (groin) and David Vaughan (groin). All are being monitored to determine if they will be included in the squad to face Manchester United.