Sunderland boss Roy Keane has told his players to keep things in perspective as they attempt to cope with the unaccustomed taste of defeat.

Saturday's 3-1 reverse at Colchester was the Black Cats' first in 18 league games, and allowed Birmingham to leapfrog them to the top of the Coca-Cola Championship table with yesterday's invaluable 3-2 victory at Wolves.

With Derby hot on their heels, the men from the Stadium of Light, who looked favourites to lift the title as well as securing their return to the Premiership last weekend, now face an anxious finish to the season.

However, Keane knows victory over Burnley at home on Friday evening will pile the pressure on City when they entertain Sheffield Wednesday the following day and Derby for their trip to Crystal Palace 24 hours later.

Keane said: "No matter what happens, we want to win matches. The one positive we can take out of this one is that promotion is still in our hands.

"We need to try and bounce back and win against Burnley on Friday. We are disappointed, but if you look at the last few months, we have managed to get to the top of the table and it is still in our hands.

"If we win the next two games, we will be okay."

Two victories - Sunderland face a trip to relegated Luton on the final day of the season - will clinch promotion whatever happens elsewhere, and while a fourth championship title in 11 years would cap a remarkable campaign, that remains the overriding priority.

Former Manchester United skipper Keane, of course, is a past master at making the most of opportunities, but he was honest enough to admit Colchester were good value for their win.

He said: "We were disappointing, but you also have to give credit to the opposition. The most important thing for me is to concentrate on my own team, but when you lose a game you have to give respect to the opposition.

"Colchester have got some very good players and they deserve a lot of credit."

Keane's disappointment at having experienced defeat for the first time in 2007 was deepened by the belief his side had contributed to their own downfall.

He told the Sunderland Echo: "I am disappointed - I am disappointed to lose any game of football.

"I have no problem with the effort my lads put in. We have played better, but in terms of the players' attitude and desire to win the game, I think that was there for everyone to see - especially when we got back to 1-1.

"A lot of teams would have shut up shop and settled for a draw, but with the players we have got, we are very attack-minded and the idea was for the team to go on and win the game.

"But with that, we left one or two gaps and we were punished for it."