Steven Fletcher, the Sunderland striker, has insisted that the team have a good opportunity of surviving in English Premier League given the fact that now they are united under Gus Poyet. The Scotland player reckons that the only way is up as Gus has fixed them out a way of playing out of problems, before their position in the league became desperate.

This weekend, Sunderland confronts a crucial bottom of the table battle at 4th bottom Stoke City, where a victory would put them level on points with the team of Mark Hughes.

According to several reports, Sunderland are in advanced talks with former Brighton and Hove Albion manager Gus Poyet over the possibility of taking over from Paolo Di Canio, who was sacked a few days ago.

The reign of the Italian at the Stadium of light lasted only six months and he could manage only a handful of victories during this period. Sunderland finally managed a victory after a long time under the management of caretaker boss Kevin Ball in the League cup yesterday. The 2-0 win over Peterborough United helped them progress into the fourth round of the competition.

Sunderland manager Paolo Di Canio has praised his players after they managed a stunning 3-1 win over Tottenham in the Barclays Asia trophy. Sunderland were 1-0 down in the match after a goal from Gylfi Sigurdsson.

It looked like they were going to be knocked out of the competition, but all the work done in the pre-season paid off for Paolo Di Canio and his players after they managed a stunning fightback. Cabral scored the equaliser for Sunderland before former Manchester United defender Wes Brown put the team in front.

Sunderland manager Paolo Di Canio has threatened the misbehaving players at the club by saying that they will be sold in the summer if they do not change their actions. Sunderland managed to avoid relegation after Wigan's 4-0 defeat against Arsenal in the midweek action.

This saw a number of Sunderland players go into town and party extremely hard. Former Swindon town manager Paolo Di Canio, who was appointed as the replacement for Martin O'Neill, has been extremely vocal in his need for discipline within the squad.

The FA Cup always attracts plenty of bets at sports betting sites, and this year is unlikely to be any different.

Already a lot of people will be putting money on those sides rated amongst the favourites by bookmakers – such as Manchester United at 4/1, Manchester City at 9/2 and Chelsea who have odds of both of these, depending on which bookies you choose. However the smart betters will know that, although these represent fairly safe bets, they are also not worth much in financial terms – you need the risky longer-odds bets for that.

Sunderland recently signed the Swansea striker Danny Graham in one of the protracted transfer moves during the January transfer window. Many expected the 27-year-old to join the north-east club much earlier in the transfer window, but he completed the move only in the final few days.

The recent number of matches and the exertion nearly cost Sunderland a place in the fourth round of the FA Cup according to the manager Martin O'Neill. Sunderland took on Bolton Wanderers in the third round of the FA Cup.

The match was played at the Reebok stadium, which made it difficult for Sunderland because their away form has been poor this season. Bolton recently changed managers after a poor start to the season, and they made a great start to the match. They had a two-goal lead after 50 min on the clock through goals from Chung-Yong Lee and Sordell.

The Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill has said that he is extremely disappointed with his side's inability to take advantage of the home match against the bottom team in the Premier league – QPR. Sunderland took on QPR at the stadium of light looking to win only their third match of the season.

The Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill has said that he expects the former Manchester city winger Adam Johnson to be a major player for the club in the next few seasons. The 25-year-old was signed from the Premier league champions for an undisclosed fee. He has signed a four-year contract with the north-east club.

The Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill has said that his players should have more confidence in themselves when going on to the pitch next time. Martin O'Neill recently saw his team defeated 3-0 by the champions Manchester city at the Etihad stadium.