Phil Parkinson admits Sunderland need an injection of quality in January if they are to save their season.
The Black Cats’ goalless draw against Bolton Wanderers at the Stadium of Light saw them drop to 15th in the table, seven points off the play-off pace albeit with a game in hand of sixth-placed Doncaster Rovers, who they face on Sunday.
But the sense of disenchantment on Wearside is rising, with fans calling for the manager’s head in the final half-hour as they failed to find a way to win against League One’s basement side.
The transfer window opens on Wednesday and Parkinson is desperate to bring in reinforcements as he looks to spark what has been a thoroughly miserable campaign into life.
Parkinson said: “We want to get into January and add a bit of quality to help the ones we have got already.
“If we do that, I am confident we will turn these draws into wins.”
Parkinson realises that time is of the essence and Sunderland cannot afford to wait until the end of January to bring in new players, but at the same time the timetable will not be dictated solely by the Black Cats.
“We are not wanting to wait [to bring players in] - it’s not a choice,” he said.
“It’s a case of the availability of players. The clubs we are speaking to are wanting to move things around themselves and you always get that scenario where there is a possibility of doing a deal for a player, but his club wants to see how they come out of the Christmas period and get players in themselves.
“It’s easy to get players in, the key is to get good ones in.
“We don’t want to bring players in just as a gesture.”
