Head coach Gus Poyet is backing Sunderland skipper John O'Shea to lead the club out of the doldrums.
The Black Cats plunged back into trouble on Tuesday evening when a four-game unbeaten run in all competitions came to a juddering halt as they were beaten 2-0 at the Stadium of Light by QPR, who had not managed to take a single Premier League point on the road all season in 11 previous attempts.
That left Poyet's men perched uncomfortably just two points above the drop zone and needing to redeem themselves once again as they prepare for Sunday's potentially tricky FA Cup fifth round trip to League One Bradford.
The January arrival of Jermain Defoe and the first two goals of his Sunderland career had helped to raise spirits on Wearside before the QPR debacle, but the backbone provided by 33-year-old stalwart O'Shea remains key.
Poyet said: "For me, always the skipper in all my teams is an important player. Key players, they need to understand most of the thing - and I am not just talking about the game itself, the way of representing the team, the link, the one who answers questions, the one leading by example.
"There are so many things the skipper needs to do apart from playing well and being at his best.
"He's a good captain. It was an easy decision to extend his contract. There are certain things with certain players that are easy and clear.
"How long he can play and if he is going to beat every single record playing 90 minutes in every game, I don't know, but the idea is to make sure he is feeling well. We need him because he is very good."
Former Manchester United defender O'Shea, who boasts five league titles and a Champions League winners medal among his list of individual honours, has played every minute of Sunderland's 30 games in all competitions to date this season, a testament to his admirable leadership, application and fitness.
However, the Republic of Ireland international's ability to circle the wagons and ensure the season does not dissolve into another scrap for top-flight survival could prove essential this weekend.
Joining Chelsea on Bradford's list of FA Cup victims is simply not an option, and Poyet knows that will be easier said than done on the notorious pitch at The Coral Windows Stadium.
The game represents a classic FA Cup tie, but the 47-year-old Uruguayan has no intention of becoming part of folklore by falling victim to another shock.
He said: "It's the one that I watched when I came to England in 1997 and they were talking about what the FA Cup means. Maybe the pitches in the '70s and the '80s, there were a few more like this one.
"You know when you get used to good things, very nice things? It's difficult to go back. That's the biggest challenge this weekend.
"We have got used to nice pitches, we have got used to beautiful grass and now we are going to go back a few years.
"It's a unique game, unique. It's going to be totally different to everything we have done this season, and we need to try our best with some basics that you need for these games."
Poyet will have midfielder Jack Rodwell back in his squad after a four-game absence due firstly to suspension and then a groin injury.
However, right-back Anthony Reveillere is unlikely to make it after limping out of the QPR defeat with a tight hamstring, and he will join midfielders Emanuele Giaccherini and Lee Cattermole on the sidelines, although the latter is due to resume training next week.