Roy Keane believes the race for automatic promotion to the Premiership will go right to the wire but says his side are still the outsiders to make the grade.

Keane's Sunderland are playing catch-up in the title race after DJ Campbell's last-gasp equaliser denied them victory at Birmingham last night.

Carlos Edwards's superb first-half strike looked to have secured victory for the Black Cats only for another former Luton player in Rowan Vine to set up a 90th-minute reply from Campbell.

It means Sunderland remain in fifth place in the Coca-Cola Championship - six and four points respectively behind leaders Derby and third-placed Blues who both have two games in hand on them.

Keane said: "We take the positives. A draw at Birmingham is not the end of the world. It keeps our run going. I'm okay with the result. We have made progress.

"I think it is going to be nip and tuck right to the last game of the season. From our point of view, we have been playing catch-up. I still think the likes of Birmingham and Derby are clear favourites to go up.

"I'd rather be in their position with the points they've got, the likes of Birmingham and Derby.

"We have only got into the play-offs for the first time in the last couple of days. We need to cement that and if there are any slip-ups, look to try and punish the teams at the top and be ready to pounce."

Sunderland had enough opportunities to kill the game off after dominating the opening 45 minutes but Steve Bruce's side rallied after the break in the battle of the two former Manchester United captains.

Bruce had been greeted with chants of 'you don't know what you're doing' when he made second-half changes against Stoke but it was two of his substitutes who combined for the equaliser as he praised the fans' backing.

He quipped: "It might show I do know what I'm doing! A lot has been said over the last few weeks and St Andrews has not been like that for a while and that was more like it.

"The fans helped, along with the substitutions, to turn it around for us because they've seen Sunderland play excellently but they've got behind the team and to be fair the team responded."

With leaders Derby not in action, West Brom narrowed the gap at the top and leapfrogged their West Midlands rivals with a 1-0 win at home against Cardiff thanks to Nathan Ellington's 20-yard shot after 65 minutes.