Sunderland winger Adam Johnson has urged fans to be patient with manager Paolo di Canio's new-look team.
Sunderland stumbled to victory over MK Dons in the Capital One Cup this week.
He said: "It's tough for us at the moment. We've got a lot of new players, they've come in and we've had a lot of new starters who might take time.
"We should have three points on the board. We gave away a sloppy goal against Southampton and we struggled on Tuesday but we're in the next round of the League Cup so we've got to look on the positive side.
"We've got a good game against Crystal Palace on Saturday: it'll be tough but we've got to look forward to going there and trying to get the three points.
"Sometimes the window is good because you can strengthen your squad. Obviously I don't know what is going to happen here but the manager says he is looking to bring in even more new players and that could be a real plus point for us. The fans will be looking forward to that as well.
"We need the bodies for competition for places and that's always a good thing. When it is out the way everything can maybe settle down, I suppose."
