Wanderers know all about struggling in front of goal writes Richard Mulligan.

According to Sam Allardyce it is "the over-riding difference" between the Premiership's elite and those at the wrong end of the table.

Nowhere is the gulf more in evidence than at the Stadium of Light, the turmoil ridden ground Wanderers will travel to on Saturday for what is known in the trade as a "six-pointer".

Sunderland - bottom of the table and without a manager after the shock sacking of Howard Wilkinson and Steve Cotterill - have scored just 19 goals in the 29 games they have played in the league this season, 12 strikes less than Wanderers.

With that record it is perhaps no wonder they are stuck at the foot of the league but, perhaps, with a forward like Kevin Phillips on the books, all is not lost.

The ex-England international has been the top scorer each season for Sunderland since he moved to Wearside from Watford in 1998, hitting 132 goals in the process.

This time around he has bagged nine goals in all competitions - a low return compared to his past achievements which include the prestigious Golden Boot award in 1999-2000 as Europe's top marksman.

But he remains the club's hottest shot, and admits the pressure of having such responsibility to keep the Black Cats in the Premiership is a heavy burden.

He said: "A lot of the expectation is going to fall on my shoulders because I've scored so many goals here, and it's even more because of where we are in the league. I don't enjoy that kind of pressure, but I enjoy the pressure of having to score the goals.

"I know I've only scored nine goals this season, but I've had my injury problems. I feel I'm back to near my best, if not my best, and I'm getting chances.

"If I can go on a little goalscoring run from now until the end of the season and that was enough to see us safe, that would be fantastic. But if there were other areas of the pitch that we could chip in with some goals, it would be great."

Phillips' reputation is such that, despite his side's problems, he would easily attract interest from other Premiership clubs if Sunderland were to be relegated.

Both Middlesbrough and Tottenham have had their eye on the 29-year-old for some time, but his departure would leave a massive void in the Sunderland squad.

Just look at the record of the club's other strikers. Marcus Stewart has yet to score in the Premiership for the Black Cats, while Tore Andre Flo has hit just four league goals.

That has made the Norwegian a target for the boo boys at the Stadium of Light, something which Phillips finds disappointing during this most difficult of seasons.

He added: "I've been through a spell like Tore is going through at the moment and we want him to score goals because we know what he's capable of.

"Fans can't single anyone out. We're all in this together, and if we all stick together we stand a better chance of staying up.

"I've said all the time that fans should get behind us all and leave their moaning or arguments until the end of the season, when our fate will be known.

"Relegation battles are tough, you're more anxious and nervous. It's strange and it's not something I'd love to go through every season.

"I know a lot of clubs go through a relegation battle every year, but I've always felt Sunderland are too big for that. We need to learn from this season and try to avoid it for the coming seasons. It's not good for your body and it's not good for your heart."

Phillips knows just how important it is to get a result against Wanderers, who they have not lost to in the three meetings between the two clubs already this season.

Sunderland also face struggling West Brom, Birmingham and West Ham in the run-in to the end of the season, and for that reason the optimistic Phillips thinks his side still have a fighting chance of retaining their Premiership status.

"A good result against Bolton would stand us in good stead," said the striker nicknamed Super Kev by the fans. Of course we can still stay up. If we win all nine games and finish mid-table, where's the problem?

"We know it's going to be tough. The thing we know is that it's in our hands and we've still got to play the teams around us.

"If we could get maximum points against them, then who knows?"

Reasons to remain positive indeed, however, closer inspection of the fixture list shows Sunderland must also still face Arsenal, Newcastle and Chelsea.