This is the only way under-fire Sunderland boss Phil Parkinson can get the fans back onside

But the scale of that task will have certainly hit home when a significant - and loud - section of the hard-core home support turned on him towards the end of the last home game.

Chants of ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ rained down after a limp 2-1 defeat to Burton Albion in a game this under-performing squad needed to win.

Just 11 games in and Parkinson is under pressure. Intense pressure.

This, of course, is not his Sunderland side. He has not yet had a transfer window to help shape how he wants the squad.

But the team has shown worrying signs of regressing in recent weeks, both in performances, style of play and crucially results.

With the Black Cats 11th ahead of Saturday’s trip to Gillingham, the results of our Big SAFC Survey perhaps won’t have come as too much of a shock.

Fans hitting out at Parkinson and the players while also demanding more from the club’s owners - including a big January investment.

The survey results do, however, make for extremely bleak reading for Parkinson with a vast majority not convinced he can lead the team to promotion, with a significant number also calling for him to be replaced.

Parkinson, who has enjoyed success at this level before, has only been in charge less than two months.

To some, the calls for him to be sacked seem premature in the extreme but for others, they see concerning trends that have - so far - showed little sign things will get better anytime soon.

The pressure is on.

And the only way Parkinson and the players can change the mood on Wearside is by somehow stringing together a winning run.

Far easier said than done.

All eyes on Gillingham now and how Sunderland set-up, which players survive the confidence-shattering Burton defeat and the performance delivered.

After 10 days on the training pitch, fans are waiting for a much-improved display, a victory and for the squad to prove they have what it takes to transform the season.