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Jack Ross insists he will not rest until he finds a remedy for Sunderland's mid-season dip.

The Black Cats' promotion campaign has lost momentum since Christmas with five draws and only three wins from eight games, although they remain fourth in the table and if they win their games in hand they would climb to second place.

A major part of the problem has been their inability to score a second goal to kill games off, with the Black Cats having last scored more than one goal in a game back on December 15.

And that has meant that four times in their last five games they have gone in front only to be pegged back and had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

"We've looked at the reasons for that and at how we get out of that pattern," said Ross, whose side takes on Blackpool at the Stadium of Light tonight.

"We identify any deficiencies or problems we have and then try to find a solution.

"Sometimes that solution is found quickly or instantly and everyone pats themselves on the back and thinks it's great, other times you have to continually grind at it until you get it right.

"You have to be diligent and thorough in your attempts to find those solutions.

"We need to create more, we need to get players higher up the park - and we have done that second part for quite a while now but we haven't seen the results of it out on the pitch.

"All you can do is continue to work on that and hammer it home in the belief that you will get there.

"In that sense, I'm comfortable, but we do need to see the fruits of that work of the pitch."

Aside from the lack of goalscoring chances being created, Ross also admits Sunderland's performances have been below-par and says that is another issue he is working to address.

He said: "We're not playing as well as we should be, I accept that.

"That's something we are trying to address and make better.

"In terms of results, we find ourselves in a fairly healthy position but the fact is we still need to play better.

"There's a frustration because I don't think the dip in performances is due to a lack of endeavour or a lack of a willingness to get it right, it is just not quite happening at the moment.

"But we will keep on chipping away until we get it right."

For the first time since he arrived on Wearside, Ross has come in for criticism from a section of fans for his approach, with many calling for him to play two strikers in a bid to address Sunderland's goalscoring woes.

(Image: Jim Steele)

But in the weekend draw at Oxford, Ross points out that when he paired Will Grigg and Charlie Wyke up front for 20 minutes in the second half, it did not transform the game.

He said: "The nature of football management is one, there are an awful lot of people who think they can do your job better than you, which is fine.

"And two, a lot of opinions get thrown out with the benefit of hindsight, which is a very easy thing to do.

"There are many different way to win football matches, choice of personnel, choice of system, whatever.

"On Saturday we had a spell in the game where we played 4-4-2. Did it make a huge difference to the performance? Not really.

"If it was as easy as that, it would be like flicking a switch and you'd play 4-4-2 and score five goals, but that isn't the case.

"There are so many things that come into it - individual form, players' decision-making, my decisions, there are whole lot of things that come into the mix.

"The manner of the result [at Oxford] determines a lot of the emotion involved in it, and we were leading until very late in the game and then there was the manner of the goal we conceded.

"There was a lot of frustration because of that, and it feels a little bit stuttered at the moment in terms of trying to get momentum going.

"We've got two home games this week before most of the other sides play again and if we win those, we would put ourselves second in the league and the outlook will change again."