However, the 32-year-old midfielder and his team-mates remain positive.

The former Motherwell and Inverness player said: "It is becoming the old cliche of every game against teams around you being a six-pointer.

"It was a real sore one (Motherwell) for me personally.

"First half we did not play particularly well but we got the goal and were in a position where we could go and win the game. The second half did not go the way we wanted it to go and we let ourselves down.

"But we have another game against a team around us and we have to win it.

"It doesn't matter how we do it we just need three points on the board.

"I have been at a couple of clubs where it starts to play on the boys when they are not winning games, that hasn't happened here.

"The boys are upbeat, so the morale is very good at the moment."

Sunderland snapped up striker Ross Stewart from Ross County for an undisclosed fee, reportedly £300,000, but Vigurs insists life will go on at the Dingwall club.

He said: "Well, it is a great move for Ross and one that he could never turn down.

"But he has not been playing of late anyway and performances against Hibs and Aberdeen, he wasn't involved.

"So there is still life after Ross Stewart even though having him in our squad would have been a huge benefit as well.

"Oli Shaw's scoring exploits of late have been really good so we are going to miss him but as of late we haven't missed him too much because as I say we have had some great results without him."