David Vaughan admits Sunderland have underperformed this season.

The Black Cats, bolstered by the arrival of £25m pair Steven Fletcher and Adam Johnson, went into the campaign with high hopes of a top 10 finish and Vaughan admits that, once again, they've badly under-achieved.

"It's hard to accept. When you look at the squad, we should not be in this position," he said.

"We really need the points and have some tough fixtures but we've actually done better against the top teams, so I'm still hopeful we'll get them."