Sunderland boss Martin O'Neill has refused releasing Connor Wickham on-loan.

With O'Neill short of strikers, the England Under-21 ace has been told to stay on Wearside and fight for his place.

He said: "In an ideal world it would have been better to get games in but we can't afford to do that.

"He has the potential to be a really decent player "The fee the football club paid put him under pressure to become an instant success.

"But I am hoping he can be the player he wants to be - we could do with him at the moment."