Sunderland boss Niall Quinn insists he can cope with the size of the task facing him after his managerial tenure took another turn for the worse last night.

A 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Birmingham, courtesy of Mikael Forssell's 40th-minute penalty, leaves the Black Cats without a point after two games.

Eyebrows were raised when the former Republic of Ireland striker assumed the roles of both chairman and manager following his consortium's takeover of the club last month. And another painful reverse, following Sunday's 2-1 loss at Coventry, continued Quinn's tough baptism of fire in the dug-out.

"I'm not deluding myself that this isn't a tough, tough job but I didn't run away from any challenge as a player and I'm not going to do so now," said Quinn defiantly. "Things have been a little bit difficult for us but I don't think this task is too tough.

"I'm convinced that in a different atmosphere, when we go on the run which I'm sure is just around the corner, we'll see things really take off here. We haven't turned the corner yet but I really feel we're getting close."

Quinn's overriding problem is a chronic lack of creativity, and he is currently working overtime to bring in players to rectify the problem.

He is believed to have bid £3million for Tottenham winger Andy Reid, who has failed to make any impact since joining from Nottingham Forest in a £4million switch 18 months ago.

Quinn is also interested in Spurs defender Calum Davenport, and having yesterday signed midfielder Arnau Caldentey Riera from Barcelona, he is is keen to see his efforts come to fruition.

"I've got to convince two or three Premiership players to come up here and give us a chance," added the Black Cats boss.