Duncan Watmore has urged Sunderland to put a nightmare December behind them as they slipped to a fifth successive defeat during the final month of 2015 when they were beaten 1-0 at home by Liverpool.

The black Cats are now seven points from safety and in danger of being cast adrift with the season only at its halfway stage.

He said: "It is not ideal and we have had a tricky run of games, but that is no excuse. We need to start winning games and picking up results.

"We have to stay positive. There is no point thinking about past defeats when we have big games coming up. We have to pick ourselves up quickly and give the fans something to cheer about."

Trips to Swansea and Tottenham await the Wearsiders after their must-win showdown with Aston Villa and the 21-year-old is acutely aware that they need to start putting runs of results together.

He said: "We know Villa is a big game, but you have to treat it as professionally as you can and play your own game. We know the situation, but we need to treat it as any other game and try and win, and that's what we will try to do.

"If we all apply ourselves properly, we can pick up three points. We are looking at three positive results to get out the bottom three. We know where we are and we need those positive results quickly.

"The only way we can do that is by playing well and having a positive outlook on it."