Ten games to go and somehow we have managed to find ourselves drifting towards the wrong end of the table. If the performance and tactical decisions at home to Everton were worrying, the setup and capitulation at Stoke was terrifying.

On Saturday we play Wolves at home - they are third from bottom but only four points behind us. A win is a must.

At time of writing we are 11th in the table with a league record of:

P30 W9 D9 L12 F44 A45 PTS36

Our current form (last five games) reads:

Stoke (A) 0 v 4 L
Everton (H) 1 v 2 L
Bolton (H) 1 v 1 D
Birmingham (A) 2 v 0 W
Blackburn (A) 0 v 0 D

People often refer to the 'magic 42 point mark', but I wonder if 42 points will be enough this season? Will we survive?

I am boldly predicting the outcomes of the last 10 games and, amazingly, I am doing this with my optimistic hat on:

13 days before we entertain Aston Villa in our opening home game, Martin O'Neill has 'done a Keegan' and walked out.

Is this over the potential sale of James Milner? If so it is a remarkable parallel to the circumstances that saw Keegan walk out in his last stint as manager. Surely the sale of Shorey has nothing to do with it?

Listening to a phone-in on the subject, the Villa fans generally seem quite pleased!

After two fairly sound displays against Everton away and Manchester City at home, both producing satisfactory 2-2 draws, we face Sunderland away tomorrow with the expected return to action of controversial midfielder Joey Barton. The scene is set for yet another classic derby match, and I cannot help but admit that this as fearful as I have ever been going in to one. Joe Kinnear today announced that Michael Owen is only 40-60% chance of being fit for the game, and Jonas Guttierez is also unlikely to start. With this in mind I feel we may well struggle tomorrow, although it has to be said that Shola Ameobi looked a different player against Man City last Monday night, and credit must be given to the manager if this is to be the re-invention of a footballer who has always, in my eyes, failed to meet the demands of the Premier League. Perhaps Sir Bobby Robson burdened him when he famously said watching him was like watching 'Bambi on ice'.

I have always wanted Shola to make it at the top level, as there is no doubt that he has potential, but just when this potential will be realized is another matter. Here's hoping that he can score for the second game in a row and prove most people wrong about his goal scoring abilities. I have also noticed that we have a prolific youngster playing in the reserves at the moment by the name of Nile Ranger, who is scoring goals for fun at the moment. This has been noticed by many up here in geordieland and many, like myself, believe that youngsters like Ranger, should be thrown in at the deep end as oppose to persistent non-events such as Ameobi, amongst others. However, this is Shola's big chance, and having scored against Man City, I get the impression that this really is make-or-break time for the Geordie born striker and he will be keener than anyone to put his lethargic displays of the past few years behind him.