AFTER the seventh Premier League defeat of an unproductive season so far it might not appear the ideal time for a Sunderland player to be positive about the weeks ahead.

But James McClean’s performances have almost mirrored Sunderland’s form during the opening four months of the campaign, so perhaps he knows what he is talking about.

McClean has stuttered so far, struggling to find the sort of tenacity and unpredictability on the wing which caused havoc during his rookie season as a top-flight footballer.

Having had his morale dented by a lack of involvement during Republic of Ireland gettogethers – and unwanted distractions off-the-field – there are genuine signs he is “getting there” again, as Martin O’Neill would say.

After scoring in last Tuesday’s victory over Reading, he was also involved plenty when Sunderland started to find their feet at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Manchester United won comfortably 3-1, but McClean will be taking heart from his display against the league leaders – and, he says, so should the rest of the Sunderland squad.

The Irishman said: “I know full well that I did not have the best of starts to the season but in the last few weeks I have become more confident and I’m starting to enjoy my football again. If I can get somewhere near to where I was last season then I’m sure I can help the team climb up the table.

“It’s not just about me though. We are now creating lots of chances and scoring goals, so that shows there is a lot more confidence about the place. Hopefully we can score a few more goals, starting at Southampton next Saturday.”

Losing to Manchester United is by no means a disgrace and the fact O’Neill’s team kept plugging away has convinced the squad they are not far from turning the corner.

But the fact remains that Sunderland’s dismal start to the season has left them sitting just a point above the bottom three after 17 matches and Manchester City, Tottenham and Liverpool are lined up after the trip to St Mary’s.

“There’s no easy games in this league, no matter who we have coming up it will be difficult,”

said McClean. “We still feel we have enough quality in the side to go on a run and get some results.

“I am still very confident we can pull ourselves away from the bottom three.

“We played well against Reading and we took that confidence in to the game at Old Trafford, now we have to make sure that continues when we go to Southampton. There’s no reason why not because there is nothing for us to be disappointed about. Yes we lost to Manchester United, but we did do OK and we created chances against a world class side.

“It took us time to settle down a little but then we gave a good account of ourselves and in the second half we made plenty of chances. You never know, on another day we might have got something.”

O’Neill could do with his injury problems easing before the trip to Southampton, but he has significant concerns.

Steven Fletcher, recently back from an ankle problem, was forced off at Old Trafford with a back complaint.

He will be assessed in the coming days in the hope it is not serious, particularly given how Danny Rose (ankle) and Phil Bardsley (knee) are already doubts for this weekend as well.