Sunderland midfielder Pierre Ekwah is currently facing the threat of relegation with Saint-Etienne

Sunderland loanee Pierre Ekwah has admitted that the battle to avoid relegation from Ligue 1 is “starting to weigh” on him and his Saint-Etienne teammates.

The midfielder has spent the season in his native France, and has often been a rare bright spark for his side in an otherwise taxing campaign. At the time of writing, ASSE find themselves 17th in the table - three points from absolute safety and one point adrift of a survival play-off spot.

And after suffering a costly 3-1 defeat against Strasbourg on Saturday afternoon, Ekwah gave a frank assessment of the struggles that he and the rest of Saint-Etienne’s dressing room are currently facing.

What has Sunderland loanee Pierre Ekwah said about Saint-Etienne’s survival hopes?

Reflecting on Saturday’s defeat, and how it contrasted with a recent victory over local rivals Lyon, Ekwah told Made In Foot: “The derby was great, but there’s an even bigger challenge to achieve, which is staying up.

“Weekend after weekend it’s complicated, we know our situation and mentally it’s starting to weigh on us, that’s for sure. We have to be more decisive, we have to win the duels in our two boxes, which we didn’t do today against Strasbourg. Mentally we’re there, we can still come back from the score, as we often do during the season, but we have to do more and get ahead, that demands more.”

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What has been said about Pierre Ekwah’s Sunderland future?

It is understood that Saint-Etienne retain a £6 million option to make Ekwah’s stint at the club permanent at the end of the season, although it has been suggested that much could hinge on whether or not they are able to beat the drop over the coming weeks.

If they can, then various reports have claimed that ASSE would be open to signing the Sunderland man, but if their relegation fate is confirmed, it is unclear as to where Ekwah’s future will lie.

Speaking recent to DAZN, as relayed by Foot Sur 7, Olivier Dall’Oglio - the coach who initially took Ekwah to Saint-Etienne - suggested that he would like to see his former club complete a deal for the player, adding: "Pierre is a young player I knew well at AS Saint-Etienne. He plays a very important role in front of the defence. With me, he was often responsible for dropping back into the defensive line. He did it well, he's a disciplined, intelligent boy with good technique.

"He has real room for improvement. He needs to become even more of a leader, speak up more, and be more forceful. It's not necessarily in his nature, but in this position, he needs to guide, direct, and lead.”

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