Sunderland's season began with a streak of five consecutive losses. A brief respite came with a three-match unbeaten run before the October international break, lifting the team out of the relegation zone. However, this momentum was short-lived; a defeat to
Manchester United post-break plunged them back into the bottom three, a position they never recovered from. The period between the international break and Christmas was particularly bleak, with the team losing every match.
Their second victory of the season came in late January against
West Bromwich Albion, who were just above them in the standings. Cup competitions were poor as well, as Sunderland struggled against League Two's
Cheltenham Town in the League Cup's first round before a 3β0 defeat to
Arsenal, and suffered a demoralizing exit in the FA Cup's fourth round to League One's
Brentford.
The poor performance led to the dismissal of
Mick McCarthy, the manager of nearly three years, with
Kevin Ball stepping in as caretaker manager. The season's modest goal became to avoid setting a new low for the fewest points in a Premier League season, a record Sunderland themselves held. Not only was the new record set, but they also broke
Stoke City's 21-year record for the lowest points under the three-point-win system. Sunderland marginally improved on their previous record for the fewest goals in a top-flight season The league's new low-point record was surpassed by
Derby County two years later, who recorded 11 points in contrast to Sunderland's 15.
^Welsh was born in
Manchester,
England, but also qualified to represent
Scotland internationally and has represented
Scotland at U-19 level.
^Nosworthy was born in
Brixton,
England, but also qualified to represent
Jamaica internationally through his father and
Guyana internationally through his mother, and would make his international debut for
Jamaica in May 2012.
^Collins was born in
Chester,
England, and represented them at C level, but also qualified to represent
Wales internationally and made his international debut for
Wales in February 2005.
^Gray was born in
Harrogate,
England, but also qualified to represent
Scotland internationally and made his international debut for
Scotland in April 2003.
^Hoyte was born in
Waltham Forest,
England, and represented them at U-16, U-19, U-20, and U-21 level, but also qualified to represent
Trinidad and Tobago internationally and made his international debut for
Trinidad and Tobago in March 2013.