Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill has warned his players that they face a "tough fight" if they want to escape relegation this season.

The Black Cats dropped into the bottom three this afternoon following a 3-1 home defeat to Chelsea, a result that extended Sunderland's poor form to two league wins in 23 games.

O'Neill's side will face Reading in a rearranged fixture on Tuesday, and the 60-year-old has called for a return to last season's performances that saw them escape from a similar position.

"Tonight, we have dropped into the bottom three and the game that both Reading and ourselves have in hand, on Tuesday night that's over, so from that viewpoint the league will be level," said O'Neill.

"It's a tough fight, though, it's a really tough fight. We got some fantastic results last season and it seemed by mid-February that we had calmly taken ourselves out of the relegation problems.

"I never saw it like that. I thought every game was a fight and it is exactly that now. Every game is a fight for us and we need to, when we have a foothold in games, try to make it count. That's the major point."

Sunderland now sit 18th in the table, but could move up to 15th with a win on Tuesday.