Sunderland boss Steve Bruce has urged his players not to panic over their dismal run of results.
Bruce says his players must keep their heads and ride out the current storm.
"Over the course of a season there is going to be a time when your team doesn't perform well," he explained to safc.com.
"We couldn't have picked a more difficult period to try and get a response with games against Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City.
"But we know we're capable of getting a result somewhere and we must get our heads down to get ready for the challenges ahead.
"Even teams like Chelsea go on losing runs, which shows you what a tough division we're in.
"We've had a disappointing February; thankfully it's gone and we can look ahead to March.
"If we can get to the end of the month in with a chance of that top ten spot then, with the fixtures we've got and the players we have coming back from injury, hopefully we'll be okay."
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