Sunderland boss Roy Keane has admitted there is a fine line between success and failure in the Barclays Premier League.The Irishman saw his side drag themselves 10 points clear of the relegation zone just a few weeks ago with successive victories over Aston Villa, West Ham and Fulham.

However, defeats by Manchester City and derby rivals Newcastle since then have seen the gap close to just five points heading into Saturday's visit of Middlesbrough. The Black Cats were made to pay for defensive lapses, as well as controversial penalty decisions, against both City and the Magpies.

But Keane insists there was little difference in the level of performance of his side between then and when they were winning games.

He said: "The three games we won - and I said it after those games - I don't think we played particularly well, we just managed to put the ball in the back of the net. It's not as if we were playing fantastic, flowing football, but we managed to get three wins.

"Earlier in the season when we were not getting results, I thought we were playing better. We've given bad goals away over the last one or two weeks. I don't think it was anything to do with the three games we had won and everyone getting carried away with that. I said at the time, three wins is three wins. Some teams at the bottom are capable of going on those runs as well, and that will be the difference over the next few weeks, who can just get over that finishing line."

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