Sunderland slipped into the Premier League relegation zone following their defeat at Bournemouth on Sunday.

Former Sunderland star Don Hutchison has sent a relegation warning to the Black Cats after their slow start to the season - but stressed he would be ‘stunned’ if they still in and around the bottom three by the turn of the year.

Regis Le Bris’ side have enjoyed a positive campaign in the cup competitions after claiming six points from their opening two Europa League fixtures against AZ Alkmaar and Torreense and they progressed into the last 16 of the Carabao Cup with a win against Hull City last month.

However, last Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth stretched Sunderland’s league form to just one win in their first seven games ahead of the Leeds United game. Hutchison knows all about the perils of being viewed as ‘too good to go down’ after he featured alongside the likes of Joe Cole, Jermain Defoe and Michael Carrick in a West Ham United squad that slipped out of the Premier League in 2003 - and he insisted Le Bris and his players have enough quality to ease any thoughts of relegation.

He told BetBrain: “You are never too good to get dragged into a relegation battle. You have to deal with the situation as it is, and right now they are second from bottom. But I would be stunned if, in two or three months, Sunderland were still anywhere near the bottom four or five. I think they have enough quality to move well clear. It is still early. Put back-to-back wins together, add six points and suddenly the table looks very different. It is about getting that next win and building from there.”

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Performance

Hutchison was on TNT Sports commentary duties for Sunderland’s Europa League win against Torreense earlier this month as a late Noah Sadiki goal helped the Black Cats to a dramatic win. The former Scotland international believes balancing the demands of competing in continental competition and the Premier League is the challenge for Le Bris moving forwards.

He said: “I commentated on their game in Portugal and he made a lot of changes, which he has to do. That is the difficult thing about qualifying for Europe: managing a Thursday-night game, trying to go deep into the competition and protecting your players at the same time. I thought the performance was there, but the result was not going their way, so he had to bring on Mukiele, Enzo Le Fée, Granit Xhaka and Reinildo to help get the result. Then you have to go to Bournemouth and try to win again a few days later.

“It is not easy. Newcastle have found that out when trying to balance European football with the Premier League. That is the challenge for Le Bris now: trying to go as far as possible in the Europa League while moving Sunderland away from the bottom three and towards the top half. It is difficult to manage both.”

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