Chris Coleman admits losing is becoming an all too familiar feeling following Sunderland’s 2-0 home defeat to Preston in the Championship on Saturday.

The loss at the Stadium of Light was the Black Cats’ third successive defeat and they are now five points adrift of safety with just eight rounds of fixtures remaining.

Second-half goals from Sean Maguire and Callum Robinson sealed the win for playoff-chasing Preston, but Coleman, who also saw his defender Jake Clarke-Salter get sent-off, admits losing is becoming a painfully common theme for his side.

“We are left disappointed again here,” the former Wales boss was quoted as saying on the club website.

“The first half was tight; the conditions were very difficult but in the second half it took just five minutes for us to concede a goal like we did.

“It’s painful and it’s a common theme, hence why we are bottom of the table.”

Coleman went on to admit that his side has shown signs of life despite their recent run of poor results, although he knows they need to perform for a full 90 minutes if they are going to stand any chance of surviving come the end of the campaign.

He added: “A game of football is over 90 minutes. A 45-minute performance is never enough.”

Sunderland are next in action when they visit promotion-chasing Derby on March 30 and they must start picking up points soon if they want to avoid being relegated to the third tier of English football for the first time since 1988.