SAM Allardyce is banking on his players having the strength of character to bounce back from their Carling Cup setback with a bumper Premiership points haul over the Christmas period.

The Wanderers boss is still smarting after Tuesday night's 2-0 defeat at Wigan that wrecked his best chance of picking up a trophy this season.

But he says his players cannot afford to dwell on the disappointment as they prepare for a festive programme of four games in eight days, kicking off with what he hopes will be a ruthlessly efficient performance at rock-bottom Sunderland on Monday.

"Tuesday's disappointment is still there but I want to put that behind us on Boxing Day," he said.

"The Carling Cup is gone, now we've got to protect our Premiership status, our Premiership form and satisfy our desire to stay in the top six."

Allardyce believes his players have already shown their mettle by refusing to be derailed by potentially demoralising defeats at Chelsea and at Fulham, and sees no reason why they should not respond with a positive display at the Stadium of Light, where Sunderland have yet to win a Premiership game since being promoted as Championship winners.

With a home game against Middlesbrough on Wedneday night, a trip to Manchester United on New Year's Eve and then another tough test at home to Liverpool on Monday, January 2, it is imperative Wanderers get off to a winning start on Wearside.

Allardyce has not set a points target but gave a clue as to what he would regard as a respectable haul when he said: "This period could end up with just one or two points out of 12, if we are not careful, rather than the six or eight we could get if we did the job right."

With such a punishing schedule, rotation will be the name of the game but, such is the importance of Monday's game that Wanderers are likely to go with their strongest available side, which should see the return to the starting line-up of El-Hadji Diouf and Bruno N'Gotty.

Being an admirer of the work of Sunderland manager, Mick McCarthy, Allardyce admits to being surprised by the Black Cats' plight - they have taken just five points from their first 17 games and have lost their last nine. But he makes no apologies for wanting to hammer another nail in their relegation coffin.

"I am surprised they've got so few points and so few good results, especially at home where the stadium itself and the fans can turn the place into a cauldron. But it can also work in a negative way, against their own players.

"They won the league and brought in new players, as Wigan and West Ham did, but they haven't quite gelled and now this is a make or break period for them, if they are going to get back in the pack.

"Everybody knows how difficult it is to escape when you're at the bottom of the Premiership on Boxing Day. Only Robbo (Bryan Robson's West Brom survived last season) has managed to do it.

"The only worry for me is knowing that they have to get that first home win some time. We just have to make sure it's not against us. We have to guard against that and go there to take full advantage of the fact that they are suffering.

"I respect Mick and I have done for many years but I'm afraid I have to be ruthless and try to make things more miserable for him than they already are."

Allardyce's main concern is Wanderers' lack of consistency, having turned in such a poor performance at Wigan, where they paid for defensive mistakes and missed chances, having played so impressively to win 4-0 at Everton three days earlier.

"I couldn't believe the difference between the two games," he said. "At Everton we defended well and didn't look like we'd have conceded a goal in four hours.

"We actually created more clear-cut chances at Wigan than we did at Everton, yet couldn't convert a single one.

"That's the biggest worry for me. In terms of clean sheets, only Chelsea and Liverpool are better - but we're going to slip up from time to time.

"It's then when you suffer from not getting your conversion rate right."