Sam Allardyce says Sunderland are a long way from safety

Sam Allardyce says Sunderland could start feeling safe in the Premier League if they won their next three matches but admits it is unlikely.

Allardyce takes charge of his first game as Black Cats manager at West Brom on Saturday, before they face Newcastle in the Tyne-Wear derby - live on Sky Sports - on October 25 and then Everton away on November 1.

Sunderland are winless and five points adrift of safety going into the match at The Hawthorns, and Allardyce, who took over from Dick Advocaat on October 9, is aware of the task facing him to try and keep them in the top flight.

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"Every game is enormous for us," he said. "We will have to be consistent, we will have to be resilient, we will have to be mentally tough in terms of believing in ourselves to try to get ourselves out of this position.

"In all honesty, winning three games on the trot is going to be very difficult for us, but it would be three games winning on the trot before we would even consider ourselves being able to start to feel a little bit safe.

"Even if we win the game at West Brom, it's a nice start, it's a good start, but we are still in that position."

Like predecessors Paolo Di Canio, Gus Poyet and Advocaat, Allardyce will face rivals Newcastle in his second game in charge.

Each of those managers led their side to a derby victory after losing their opening fixture, but Allardyce feels a positive result against West Brom would offer his players a confidence boost ahead of the visit of the Magpies.

"Looking forward to the Newcastle derby will be a lot easier, a lot better for me, if the lads can go out and get a result at West Brom," he added.

The 60-year-old has highlighted the need to shore up a defence which has conceded 18 goals in its first eight league games, including two against West Ham before the international break as they surrendered a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2.

Former Sunderland player Allardyce will be without Sebastian Coates and Jeremain Lens in his first game in charge, but he is already looking forward to his first home game in front of the loyal Black Cats fans.

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Asked how he would feel when he heads for the dug-out, Allardyce replied: "Very proud. For whatever has happened here, there have been 40,000 fans turning up at home. I think it's the seventh-highest attendance in the league and, in all fairness, they haven't had too much to cheer about.

"But they keep wanting to turn up and they keep wanting to support the team, and obviously I have got to try to make sure they go home happy from now on, make sure they come and look forward to the next game because they have seen us win."