These are dark days for Newcastle fans.
With Newcastle now seven points above the drop zone it would take some dip in form for them to be sucked into the bottom three in the last five games. They'd have to lose all five matches and others would have to string a sequence of wins together.
However, given United have lost the last six matches and Leicester City -- who Newcastle still have to play -- have netted three victories on the spin, it's not beyond the realms of possibility.
Especially when you consider that Newcastle's players look like boxers slumped in the corner of a ring wondering whether to come out for the next round at the moment.
However, Sunderland head coach Dick Advocaat has set his players a six-point target to preserve their Barclays Premier League status ... and that is a cut-off with 35 pts ... which is what Newcastle already have.
The Black Cats sit just a point above the drop zone going into Saturday's testing trip to Stoke and knowing their stay in the top flight is under serious threat with Leicester in particular making a late charge.
However, he is convinced two wins or the equivalent from their remaining six games will be enough to prevent them slipping into the Sky Bet Championship.
Advocaat told SAFSEE: "We know that we have to get results - we need at least six points in the last six games, then we have a chance to stay up, and we have the feeling that we can do something.
"We have still to learn if and when you go behind, that you can still change a game, and we forgot to do that against Crystal Palace.
"But this is a different game, a new game. We know there are only six games to go, only five weeks. We can show that we want to stay up, and I have the feeling that the players are really up for it, so hopefully we can show something on Saturday."
A 4-1 home defeat by Palace last time out set the alarm bells ringing in earnest, and while Sunderland have a game in hand on several of their rivals, it is a trip to Arsenal four days before they travel to champions-elect Chelsea in an intensely difficult finish to the campaign.