JACK ROSS admits Sunderland’s habit of drawing matches is becoming a major issue that is threatening to derail the club’s promotion push.

The Black Cats failed to win for the seventh time in nine league games last night as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Accrington Stanley.

They looked to be heading to their first home defeat of the season when Billy Kee and Paul Smyth fired Accrington into a two-goal lead, but the introduction of substitute Chris Maguire proved the catalyst for a second-half recovery that featured successful strikes from George Honeyman and Aiden McGeady.

The comeback hinted at a strength of spirit that could be crucial in the final two-and-a-half months of the season, but yet another home draw means Sunderland are now three points adrift of the automatic promotion positions, having played the same number of games as second-placed Barnsley, who host Wycombe Wanderers this afternoon.

“There has to be an element of realism about not winning these games,” said Ross. “I can’t continue to say it doesn’t matter, of course it does. If you look at the number of draws, then the reality is that if you had won half of them and drawn half of them, you would be in a better position, and a position that would probably be right up there.

“You can’t affect what’s gone though – we just need to continue having faith in what we’re doing and make sure we capitalise on opportunities because we’ve created a lot more in the last couple of games. We can’t get caught up in a little bit of the hysteria that will go around is drawing games.

“That’s easier said than done, but if people are going to level criticism, level it at me rather than my players. They’ve been immensely resilient this season, and they could easily have buckled today. I’m sure other teams and players have done that in the past, but they didn’t, which is to their immense credit.”

Sunderland’s revival started when Maguire came off the bench, with the substitute providing the cross that led to Honeyman’s close-range finish.

Maguire claimed his second assist seven minutes later, linking effectively with McGeady inside the 18-yard box, and the attacking midfielder will surely start Tuesday’s home game with Gillingham ahead of Charlie Wyke, who turned in another ineffectual display.

Maguire was one of Sunderland’s most influential performers in the first half of the season, and while he has now gone four matches without featuring in the starting line-up, Ross insists he has never lost sight of his attacking qualities.

“Chris is a really good player, and he has really good quality,” said the Black Cats boss. “I’m delighted with his response to getting back involved again tonight, and I would hope that’s testament to how he’s felt even through the games where he’s not been involved as much.

“I still speak to him all the time, and things are explained. He’s got to make sure he’s at those levels all the time, whether it be in training or in games, because when he’s at those levels, he’s a massive asset to us. We’ve seen that from the impact he had on the game tonight.

“From a positive side of it, when you have a player who has been frustrated at being left out, but then comes on in those circumstances and responds in that manner, then hopefully that’s reflective of what you’ve managed to put together.”

Maguire’s display was one of the main positives to emerge from a largely frustrating evening, but Ross will have been concerned at the defensive frailties that were apparent as Accrington claimed a two-goal lead.

Jack Baldwin’s defensive struggles were encapsulated in the reckless challenge that enabled Kee to open the scoring from the penalty spot, and the Sunderland defence parted alarmingly as Smyth headed home Stanley’s second at the start of the second half.

“I don’t want to be repetitive and sit here all the time and say it’s frustrating, but it is,” said Ross. “A bit like Tuesday (when Sunderland drew 1-1 with Blackpool), it’s a peculiar set of emotions because for most of the game we played quite well, but for a short spell it was the polar opposite. It was a bit like that on Tuesday too.

“There was a 15 or 20-minute spell where it was the complete opposite to prior to the goal and in the second half in the main. In those periods, it’s about making sure that we are a little bit more resilient, but then the character and resilience from the players to come back was very obvious again.”