STEVE Bruce is hoping Sunderland will be approaching full-strength for the busy Festive period – the big question is whether he will be there to enjoy the benefit.

Fraizer Campbell, Simon Mignolet, Connor Wickham and Titus Bramble should be back from injury in December, a welcome boost to a club whose morale is very low.

The Black Cats sit two points and two places above the Premier League relegation zone. The last two matches – at home to bottom-half teams – were widely seen as an ideal opportunity to start putting distance between themselves and the bottom three, but Sunderland claimed a solitary point.

Large numbers of supporters at Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Wigan Athletic left little doubt as to who they blamed. Bruce was barracked after his side surrendered an early lead to a side who had not won any of their previous eight games.

Bruce took training as usual yesterday – but the pressure is mounting.

Sunderland travel to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday, then entertain Blackburn Rovers. Both are on television.

And, like the last two Premier League matches, they are ones they should expect to win (or in the case of Wolves at least draw) if they are not to be considered relegation contenders.

Sunderland’s problems have been many, but a lack of goals – 16 from 13 league games – and an abundance of injuries have been chief among them. Bruce is hopeful of light at the end of the tunnel soon.

“The good thing we can report is Fraizer Campbell’s come through another week of training with the first team,” he said.

“Touch wood, at the moment he looks remarkably good for somebody who’s been out for the best part of a couple of seasons. We hope he can play in a game in the next ten days or so and let’s hope we can get him up and ready.