STEVE Bruce's position as Sunderland manager is looking increasingly precarious this morning after thousands of the club's supporters turned on him in the latter stages of Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Wigan.

Bruce is ready to tender his resignation if he feels his presence is hampering the club's attempts to turn the season around, but the decision could be taken out of his hands if chairman Ellis Short decides enough is enough.

Short watched his side slump to their tenth home defeat of the calender year alongside former chairman Niall Quinn, and the pair discussed Bruce's position before leaving the Stadium of Light on Saturday evening.

Having supported their manager during a difficult start to the campaign, there is a desire to avoid too much upheaval with the Black Cats just two points above the relegation zone. However, there is also understood to be a growing acceptance that the situation is approaching the point of no return.

Prior to Saturday's game, Short used his first set of programme notes since replacing Quinn to insist there was “no reason to panic”, but the American tycoon is sure to have been concerned by the events that unfolded.

On the field, a calamitous stoppage-time mix-up enabled Wigan substitute Franco Di Santo to inflict Sunderland's sixth defeat of the season, while off the pitch, Bruce was subjected to a barrage of abuse from his own fans.

The first chants of “Bruce out” could be heard shortly after the hour mark, and thousands of supporters joined in a chorus of “You fat Geordie b******, get out of our club” in the wake of Di Santo's strike.

It is hard to see how Bruce can survive such a poisonous atmosphere, but while he insists he will walk if his position becomes untenable, the embattled boss remains adamant he is capable of turning things around.

“If I thought that by me going, it would help everybody, then I would consider it,” said Bruce, who boasts a record of 29 wins from 98 matches since joining Sunderland in the summer of 2009. “But I don't think that at the minute. I just want to try to get it right.

“I'm not the type to just accept defeat or walk away. That's just how I am, I cannot stomach it to be fair. It's my nature to go home, keep my dignity and try to get up on Monday morning, go again and see if we can turn it around.

“Can I turn the relationship (with the supporters) around? I don't know. It's going to be very, very difficult. The criticism borders on abuse. But that's the way it is and I have to accept it. I cannot help where I was born unfortunately.

“Hopefully, it's bottomed out. I don't think it's ever been as bad as that. But all you can do is have a good performance and win a match. Maybe then, people will look at the bigger picture and say, 'Well maybe he hasn't done such a bad job'. That's all I can do.”

Whether Bruce is given the opportunity to turn things around remains to be seen. The likes of Martin O'Neill and Mark Hughes are out of work and available, and it is understood that both would be willing to discuss a position at the Stadium of Light if a vacancy was to arise.

Short has remained loyal to his manager thus far, but having overseen a radical restructuring of Sunderland's boardroom structure and executive governance in the last four months, it could be argued that a change of manager is the next logical step in his drive to improve performance.

He was preaching patience in the build up to Saturday's game though, even if his lengthy programme briefing conspicuously failed to mention Bruce by name.

“Every one of us – supporters, players, staff and of course myself are unhappy with our league position at present,” wrote Short. “However, I remain optimistic that we will rise to a position commensurate with our ability and don't feel there is a need to panic.

“While we are not happy with where we are at the moment in the table, there is no reason to panic. The performances and results on the pitch are our number one concern and we are all looking for improvement there.

“We're happy with so many aspects of the progress we are making but we are 100 per cent focused on moving up the table. I understand that for all of the great work going on at the club, where we need to do our talking is on the pitch.”