Sunderland manager David Moyes has admitted that the January transfer window will determine whether his side will remain in the Premier League this season.
The Black Cats have picked up just one point from their opening six games of the season and sit rock bottom of the table.
Moyes left it late to recruit in the summer transfer window, bringing in the likes of Paddy McNair, Steven Pienaar, Didier N'Dong and Victor Anichebe on permanent deals and Adnan Januzaj, Javier Manquillo and Jason Denayer on loan.
"I think we know we're going to have to improve on what we've got to give ourselves a chance," Moyes told The Guardian after Saturday's last-minute defeat to Crystal Palace. "Ultimately you have to have good players on the pitch and, at the moment, we're not getting enough good players on the pitch. We need to get a better team, it's as simple as that. We need to get a team which can give us results.
"It's been a tough period because I wanted to be successful. I knew it wasn't going to be all easy, that's for sure, but I did expect to find myself winning games. Now, though, we have to try and find a way to get out of it."
"We're probably paying the price for not recruiting earlier. But what would you say about the year before that or the year before that? Would you say we're paying the price for recruitment then or are there other reasons?"
Sunderland welcome West Bromwich Albion to the Stadium of Light on Saturday in their next Premier League game.
