DICK ADVOCAAT admits he is “worried” in the wake of Sunderland’s capitulation at the hands of Crystal Palace, and concedes his side will be heading for the Championship if they do not improve markedly in the final six matches of the season.

Just six days after beating Newcastle in the Wear-Tyne derby, the Black Cats produced one of their worst 45 minutes of the campaign as they conceded four goals in the space of 14 second-half minutes to crash to a 4-1 home defeat.

Having also conceded four goals at the Stadium of Light in the final game of Gus Poyet’s reign, the Wearsiders are compiling a wretched home record, and the feel-good factor that had accompanied the previous weekend’s derby win had completely disappeared as thousands of supporters streamed out of the ground before Saturday’s final whistle.

With Burnley and QPR both suffering 1-0 defeats, the Black Cats remain three points clear of the relegation zone, but with no game next weekend because of Arsenal’s involvement in the FA Cup semi-finals, the gap could have reduced by the time they next take to the field at Stoke’s Britannia Stadium on April 25.

With trips to Arsenal, Chelsea and Everton still to come, Sunderland’s run in looks testing, and having witnessed his players collapse spectacularly in the second half of Saturday’s game, Advocaat concedes there is plenty of cause for concern.

“I am worried, yes, very worried,” said the Dutchman. “I think I am as worried as the other coaches who are in the same position as ourselves, but if you can do it against Newcastle, we should repeat it.

“We are not the first team to get beaten by Palace because they have beaten better teams in the last nine games, but we have to believe in ourselves.

“We showed we can do something against Newcastle, but if we carry on performing like this then we have no chance. We still have to believe that we can do something, and I actually believe we can.”

Having shaded a fairly nondescript first half, there was no sign of the impending chaos as Sunderland kicked off the second period with the scoreline still goalless.

But after Glenn Murray headed home Palace’s opener three minutes after the restart, Yannick Bolasie completed a 11-minute hat-trick as Sunderland’s defence completely fell apart.

John O’Shea’s lack of pace was repeatedly exposed as Bolasie galloped beyond the Black Cats backline, with Santiago Vergini equally culpable as Palace scored at will.

Only four top-flight teams have conceded more goals than Sunderland this season, but Advocaat was equally concerned at his side’s lack of threat at the other end of the field.

Connor Wickham claimed a last-minute consolation, but before that point, the Black Cats had never really threatened despite Advocaat fielding a 4-3-3 formation that featured Wickham, Jermain Defoe and Steven Fletcher all playing in attack.

“We don’t create enough chances, even though we play with three strikers,” he said. “Even when we play with so many up front, we don’t create something and that means there is something wrong in the squad.

“Now we have to find out how we can improve it. I’m disappointed we have to wait two weeks for our next game, but it is not about looking at other results, we have to do it by ourselves. And if we could win last week, then we can win the next time.”

For the second time in three home games, the Stadium of Light was virtually empty at the final whistle, with fans having begun to stream out of the ground as Bolasie was completing his hat-trick shortly after the hour mark.

“I can understand it even if I wasn’t happy about it,” said Advocaat. “Like me, they are also very worried about the future.”

Palace’s win was something of a personal triumph for manager Alan Pardew, who had suffered four successive derby defeats during his time as Newcastle boss.

Pardew has claimed 25 points from his 12 matches in charge of the Eagles, and having inherited a side mired in relegation trouble, he now finds himself targeting a top-eight finish.

“I said to my players that one thing about the North-East is that I know that after a derby win there is a lot of hype, and we saw that in the programme,” said Pardew. “There was a lot of hype about how they won, and it is sometimes difficult to get it back to those heights.

“The stadium was a little bit quieter, and it was difficult for the Sunderland players because they were up against a side in great form. In the end, I thought the scoreline flattered Sunderland a little bit.”