SUNDERLAND boss Howard Wilkinson was at pains to point out that he had not fielded a weakened team for the FA Cup tie - simply the only one that was available to him.

Injury had ruled out Kevin Kilbane and Gavin McCann was another casualty after being taken ill during the night. Now Wilkinson must also deal with the double blow of losing full backs Stephen Wright and Mark Rossiter during the Reebok clash.

Wilkinson would like to progress in the cup but ultimately knows where the real battle lies.

"I don't know what the FA Cup is worth, but I know what staying in the Premiership is," he said. "You can finish 16th in the Premiership at the end of the season and that would be better than winning the Cup.

"Really it is all about priorities but the team I put out was the only one available to me and now I have two more injuries to worry about with both my right full backs, Stephen Wright and Mark Rossiter now out for a few weeks.

"Losing two specialist players is not good news for the Premiership for us..

"A draw wasn't the worst result we could have had - being beaten would have been worse. Now we have to play another game but at least we are in the hat for the fourth round draw.

"I suppose the size of the crowd was a reflection of the teams that were on show. I would have liked to have rested more but in the event I couldn't.

"If Sam thought that the team he turned out today was the best for the club in the long run then he should know better than anyone else.

"This was our fourth away game out of five in 14 days and I don't know how many thousands of miles we have covered to get to those games but at least now we have a full week to recover before the next game on Saturday."

Wilkinson was unhappy by his side's first half performance, but believes his star striker Kevin Phillips is now back to his best.

He said: "We have conceded too many goals from set-pieces this season, and it was disappointing that Jody Craddock should be beaten in the air - that does not happen too often.

"We really came back into the game after a poor start and we made enough chances for ourselves to perhaps have won it.

"It was a fantastic goal for us and a typical goal for Kevin, and I think that we are now seeing the real Kevin Phillips."