Sunderland skipper Dean Whitehead is confident he and his team-mates will be better for their tough introduction to life in the Premier League.The Black Cats head for Reading on Saturday still looking for a first away win of the campaign and knowing it could hardly come at a better time as they approach the halfway stage.

Roy Keane's men will arrive at the Madejski Stadium sitting 17th in the table, a point above the drop zone and four shy of the Royals in 13th.

That gap would have been significantly narrower had referee Steve Bennett not ruled out Danny Collins' late header against Aston Villa last weekend.

However, 25-year-old Whitehead is convinced the trials and tribulations of a difficult start will make his side stronger for the second half of the season.

He said: "We have a lot of players who were inexperienced in the Premier League and we are gaining experience as we go along.

"We will definitely get better as we go. We all had expectations coming into the season that we would do this and do that.

"But we find ourselves in a position we don't want to be in, so we have to knuckle down and make sure we start getting points on the board sooner rather than later.

"There are a lot of teams near the bottom who are very close in terms of points, so if we can get a win, all of a sudden, you are three or four points above the relegation zone.

"In this league, wins are massive, especially at the bottom at the moment.

"We are very confident. We have definitely got enough in this squad to climb the table."

Reading are one of the three sides Sunderland have beaten to date - Tottenham and Derby are the others - and Keane will hope for a similar performance in Berkshire.

Goals from £6million striker Kenwyne Jones - his first for the club - and Ross Wallace put the Black Cats in a commanding position at the Stadium of Light on September 15, and Dave Kitson's late reply counted for nothing but consolation.

Sunderland have lost their last five on the road - at Arsenal, West Ham, Manchester City, Everton and Chelsea - but having come so close to beating Villa, will travel south confident of getting a result against Steve Coppell's side.

Whitehead said: "In the end, people might say Villa deserved a point, but when you score a legitimate goal in the last minute, you feel a little bit aggrieved.

"But that's football, you get on with it and we are looking forward to Reading now."

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