Sunderland manager David Moyes has insisted that it is not time for his side to panic after they fell to their 18th defeat of the season this afternoon.
Goals from Sergio Aguero and Leroy Sane gave Manchester City a 2-0 victory over the Black Cats at the Stadium of Light, leaving the hosts rooted to the bottom of the table and now six points from safety.
Moyes acknowledged that his side are in a perilous position, but is confident that they can turn their form around over the coming weeks in order to make another late push for survival.
"I don't think you can fault the players for any of that. We lacked quality at times though. They did all they could to try to get something out of the game," he told BBC Sport.
"When you're in it every day you see the levels go up. We've got games coming up - we don't have to show it, we have to do it.
"We tried to make chances. The one that hits the post and comes out maybe that'll hit the inside of the post and go in next time. I hope our players understand the position that we're in, but we're not panicking."
Sunderland are not in action again until March 18, when they host Burnley.
