The Black Cats will run out for their New Years' Day clash with the Premier League leaders having taken seven points from the 12 on offer during the 59-year-old's reign to date to ease themselves three places and four points clear of the fight for top-flight survival. However, with tough trips to Wigan, who currently occupy 18th place, and Champions League contenders Chelsea to come in their next two fixtures, O'Neill knows that position could be eroded if they do not maintain the standards they have set themselves during his early weeks at the club. He said: "The confidence is good, but until you win a substantial number of football matches, I always feel that it can be a bit brittle. "You don't want to destroy that in a couple of games. We have got some tough games coming up now - we have got this game, away to Wigan with a day's less rest, and I don't want to look that much further to the Chelsea game. "The league games are vitally important to us. We wouldn't want to lose momentum but by the same token we obviously have a long-term aim - but we have a short-term aim as well. "At the minute, we have got level points from games played, and we need to try to stay there for as long as possible and obviously when the time comes, to shift on a bit. "But we are not out of the woods by any stretch of the imagination." O'Neill's start might have been even better - Sunderland were leading Everton 1-0 on Boxing Day when a highly debatable penalty decision by referee Howard Webb allowed Leighton Baines to snatch a point. However, while he has been more than satisfied with his return to date, the manager knows the recovery he was recruited to inspire remains in its infancy. Asked about his hopes for the New year, he replied: "My hopes for Sunderland are just to get out of bother, that's the most pressing issue for us. "We are still there, we are still in a spot of bother. "I have been delighted with the team, obviously. We have got seven points on the board, which has been great for us. "The application has been fantastic and the enthusiasm with which they have gone about their task has been great, so from that viewpoint, I can't ask for any more. "But we are still in a dogfight, we really are and it's important for us here to try to accumulate some more points from the matches coming up. "It will be difficult - after this, we are away to Wigan after two days' rest, or a day and a bit, and then Chelsea in the league after that - and I am not even talking about the away trip to Peterborough in the FA Cup, which will be hard for us. "Just for us to hang in there at this minute in these games would be very important." That might be easier said than done with opposite number Roberto Mancini able to call upon the likes of Mario Balotelli, Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and David Silva without having to resort to Carlos Tevez and O'Neill likely to be without defenders Phil Bardsley, Titus Bramble and Michael Turner. The 59-year-old said: "In an ideal world, it would be great to have your best defenders available. If it's not the case, then we will have to make do. "But we will approach that there on Sunday and hopefully in the manner we have in the other games, which has been very, very positive in terms of the effort and determination and application that the players have given."
