Connor Wickham has admitted Sunderland 's misfiring strikers deserve the criticism they are getting . The Black Cats have managed only 23 goals in their 28 Barclays Premier League fixtures to date this season , a return which has left them perched perilously close to the relegation zone as the season reaches crunch-point . Perhaps even more worrying is the fact that Gus Poyet 's pool of frontmen has contributed just nine of those goals , a record Wickham knows simply has to improve if they are to avoid a second successive scramble for top-flight survival . Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe has only managed two goals since his January arrival from FC Toronto . ' I would n't say the criticism of the strikers is unfair , ' admitted Wickham , speaking to the Northern Echo . 'Strikers are going to get the most at any club because they are the money-makers , they are the ones that the fans are relying on to score the goals . That 's where the criticism can come . 'Chances come and you do need to put them away . We are creating chances . The way we set up , we are setting up to attack at times when we get the ball . We do try to break as quickly as we can when we get the ball . Connor Wickham , who has scored just three league goals this season , says Sunderland attack must do better . Wickham , 21 , scored one of his three Premier League strikes this term against champions Manchester City . 'We have done it in games but we have to get more consistent with it and get in to the box more . We will climb away from the rest of the group down there if we can start to put our chances away . ' Scotland international Steven Fletcher is currently leading the way for the strikers with four goals - the same number as midfielder Adam Johnson - with Wickham having managed three and January arrival Jermain Defoe two . Danny Graham is yet to score for the club , while Jozy Altidore , who left the Stadium of Light for Toronto in an exchange deal with Defoe in January , did so having found the back of the net just three times in 52 appearances in all competitions . Sunderland face Aston Villa - the only Premier League club to have scored fewer goals with just 15 to date - at the Stadium of Light on Saturday with three points crucial for both sides . Villa , who ended a run of seven league defeats on the trot with a 2-1 home victory over derby rivals West Brom on March 3 , currently sit three points clear of the bottom three with their hosts a point better off . Steven Fletcher and Jermain Defoe will be hoping for better luck in front of goal when they play Aston Villa .
Barclays Premier League strugglers have scored just 23 goals in 28 games . Only nine of those goals have been scored by Sunderland 's strikers . Wickham , 21 , scored his last goal in January against Burnley . Sunderland face Aston Villa at the Stadium of Light in their next game . CLICK HERE for all the latest Sunderland news .