In the interests of investigative reporting it seemed prudent to do the same thing as many others in this ground just after half past three on Saturday: get up and walk out.

Sunderland had just scored their third own-goal of the first half and the common reaction was an understandable one. There is only so much embarrassment a fan can take.

However, the gates were locked at the Stadium of Light; not even Elvis could have left the building. So punters bought pints desperately, confronted each other angrily or just stared apathetically at the racing on the screens above. One showed the betting from the 3.35 at Southwell, in which there was - of course there was - a horse named Pants. A man named Reid trains it.

Results in the Sunderland Echo's Pink on Saturday night confirmed that Pants did not finish in the first three. The Pink also confirmed that Sunderland are now in the Premiership's last three, that in fact they are bottom of it with 12 difficult fixtures left.

A generous reading suggests Sunderland could pick up 12 more points. They have 19 from 26 so far, so another 12 would leave them with 31. Last season Ipswich were relegated with 36, having accrued 30 by their 26th game. The season before Manchester City had 23 from 26, and went down with 34.

Ipswich and City both finished third bottom but, after what felt like Sunderland's bleakest day for years, even that seems beyond Howard Wilkinson's team now.

Wilkinson would not be overly pedantic by arguing that it is not his team but Peter Reid's, yet in the 17 league matches since Wilkinson's October appointment Sunderland have won twice and collected 11 points. There is not a shred of evidence in these sta tistics to suggest Sunderland will stay up.

Yet both Wilkinson and his best player on Saturday, Kevin Kilbane, mentioned "belief" afterwards. "I genuinely think we'll get out of it," Wilkinson said. "We have to believe we can," said Kilbane.

But Sunderland should be thinking about relegation and be asking the hardest of questions about their ability to bounce straight back. This time next year they could have regrouped like Leicester, or be floundering like Derby.

Here, a guileless side scored four goals at home for the first time since New Year's Day 2001 but managed to put three of them in their own net. Stephen Wright got the first, deflecting Mark Fish's effort past Thomas Sorensen, and in the space of the next grotesque eight minutes Michael Proctor did the same - twice. Proctor is a local lad, a Sunderland supporter. He did well to stay on for 74 minutes.

After 80, Kevin Phillips converted a late penalty but by then, to borrow a Glenn Roeder description, it was excruciating.

It masked an efficient, clever win by Charlton. Alan Curbishley has fashioned a team who play intelligent, industrious football, home and away. This was their sixth away win - the best record in the league - and the score could have been humiliating. Jason Euell could have had a second-half hat-trick.

Charlton are on the same points as Southampton. As the Saints spoke of Europe recently, so should Charlton - seven of their last 12 games are at home. "We run it properly," Curbishley said of his club.

Man of the match: Scott Parker (Charlton Athletic)