Wilkinson believes Sunderland can escape

The Wearsiders went down 3-1 at home to local rivals Middlesbrough at the Stadium of Light to edge a step nearer to slipping out of the division.

They remain rooted to the bottom of the Premiership and are seven points away from safety.

Match report: Sunderland 1-3 Middlesbrough

But Wilkinson vowed to fight on to save the club from dropping out of the top flight.

"I have to think only that we can get out of this trouble so long as we have the games and the points to play for," he said.

"For me to start talking about the consequences publicly is, in my opinion, to invite the players to think that somewhere in the back of my mind, I actually think it can happen. It then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

"At the moment, I don't think that and I cannot allow myself to think that, and the Sunderland fans need to understand that."

It was important we put a performance on and collected our first away win for quite a while Steve McClaren

Sunderland were two goals down after 28 minutes through a double strike from defender Chris Riggott.

Kevin Phillips briefly gave the Black Cats hope with a stunning 56th-minute strike, but Kevin Kilbane's error allowed Christie to seal the win three minutes later.

"I was actually thinking after Kevin's fantastic goal, that not just a draw but a victory was possible," added Wilkinson.

"We started to pass the ball we started to move the ball, we started to play with a lot more confidence.

"The third goal was totally against the run of play and out of the blue, a one-off."

Christie grabbed the third goal for Boro

Boro boss Steve McClaren left Wearside happy with his team's display as they recorded their first away win in the Premiership since 28 September.

"I'm very satisfied," he said. "It's been a while coming.

"It was important that we won the game, it was important for the fans, it was important we put a performance on and collected our first away win for quite a while, and scoring three goals was a bonus."

McClaren had a message of support for Wilkinson as he prepares for the final 10 games of the season.

"I said before the game that I'd be pleased to take the three points and then they could start their revival after that," he said.

"They're playing the teams around them, so their destiny really is in their own hands.

"They've certainly got the players, they've got the quality. They aren't getting the breaks at the present moment, and in football with 10 games to go, who knows? Anything can happen."