Poyet planning January shake-up at Sunderland
Gus Poyet will look at freshening up his Sunderland squad in January, but admits picking up points is the focus for now.
The Black Cats embarked on an elaborate spending spree over the summer, with former boss Paolo Di Canio bringing in 14 fresh faces.
Sweeping changes have had a detrimental effect, with Di Canio now out of a job and Sunderland rooted to the foot of the Premier League table - five points from safety.
Poyet believes further tweaks will be required during the winter transfer window if the tide is to be turned and has revealed that the acquisition process is already well under way.
Poyet told the Sunderland Echo: "I'm working on changing things in January, that's for sure. But that doesn't affect my thinking about now
"There are things going on behind the scenes in terms of the transfer window - that hasn't changed - and I'm confident they will happen.
"How big the changes will be, I don't know just yet.
"But we need results now, in our next few games, and it is about personality and attitude - about winning the ball, using it well and winning it back."
While working on a winter shake-up at the Stadium of Light, the immediate priority for Poyet is finding a way to cut out the errors which continue to cost Sunderland dear.
He added: "There is a gap between us and the other teams, so we need to be spot on.
"That means us making good decisions - no own goals, no conceding silly goals - in other words, do the basics right for the 94 minutes of the game week in, week out.
"Me? I keep coaching and I will be hammering them again this week. You have to learn quick here or you have a hole in the head because I will be hammering away at you.
"Is there another way? I don't think so.
"The problem we have is that the team is not strong enough to understand exactly what we need to do all the way through the game.
"Football is about more than running up and down, it is about working together."