Sunderland defender Danny Collins insists talk of needing 'time to gel' as a team is no excuse.

"You can use the excuse that when a lot of players come in, the team needs time to gel, but I think top players who are coming in shouldn't really need too much time," he said.

"In the majority of games, we have played well, we have had good possession and spells where we have knocked it around quite well, perhaps barring the Manchester City game in the second half, where we weren't at the races.

"In general, we have not done too badly in games. You look at the Liverpool game, where we should have at least come away with a point, the same as the Villa game at the weekend.

"Overall, things are looking good for us, and with a bit of luck and if we take one or two chances and keep it a bit tighter at the other end, we should be okay."