Until their recent defeat at the hands of West Ham, Sunderland had accumulated 18 points from their eight previous league matches, a run of form not matched by any other side in the Championship. Mick McCarthy's side has climbed to third in the table, four points behind leaders Wigan, and a good Christmas campaign could see the Black Cats challenging for top spot. Givemefootball's Mark Shail caught up with striker Marcus Stewart who, despite finding the net six times this season, has not scored in his last 12 matches.
Q:YOU MUST BE PLEASED WITH THE WAY SUNDERLAND ARE PLAYING AT THE MOMENT?
A:Yes, things are going really well, we have got a great team spirit at the club and hopefully we can take our good form into the Christmas schedule. It hasn't gone so well for me personally of late, but the most important thing is that the team are doing well.
Q:DO YOU THINK YOU ARE SERIOUS CONTENDERS FOR THE TITLE?
A:I'd like to think so. We are nicely poised in third place and as long as we stay in touch over Christmas, and into Easter, we will be in with a great chance.
Q:WHAT DOES YOUR CHRISTMAS PROGRAMME LOOK LIKE?
A:Our next three matches are against Burnley, away to Nottingham Forest and then at home to Leeds. They certainly won't be easy matches - Burnley are looking well organised under Steve Cotterill, Forest are fighting for their lives towards the bottom of the table and Leeds are never an easy side to beat. Having said that, I would be disappointed if we don't take at least six points from those three fixtures, it's important that we maintain our momentum.
Q:WHAT DO YOU PUT THE CLUB'S UPTURN IN FORM DOWN TO?
A:After a slow start we gradually began to find our feet and once we started to win a few games you could see the confidence start to grow amongst the players. We lost to West Ham recently, but that was after having a man sent off and I don't think you should read too much into that result. After that game we then managed to get back to winning ways against Cardiff.
Q:HOW ARE YOU ENJOYING WORKING WITH MICK McCARTHY?
A:I think he is one of the best managers I have played under - he is fair with the players and treats everyone in the squad on an equal basis. He hasn't picked me for the last few matches, but I don't have any complaints because I haven't scored for 12 games.
Q:HOW IMPORTANT WOULD IT BE FOR YOU TO GET BACK INTO THE PREMIERSHIP?
A:As much as I would like to stay here at Sunderland, my contract expires at the end of the season, so we will have to wait and see. It may well be that I will be looking for employment elsewhere, come May, but in the meantime I am fully focussed on winning some kind of honours with Sunderland this season.
Q:WHO DO YOU RATE THE BEST SIDES YOU HAVE SEEN IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP THIS SEASON?
A:If I have to single out two teams they would be Wigan and West Ham. We played Wigan early in the season and, although we weren't playing particularly well at the time, they were impressive. Although West Ham got the better of us recently we gave as good as we got, but they won't be far away either.
