Fayed's millions dribbling away as Fulham fail to meet the Premier challenge

The likeable West London club came up into the Premier League with a fanfare seven years ago, winning 101 points playing great football under Jean Tigana.

Fulham spent £25m last summer and £10m in the January transfer window, but all it has bought them is frustration and failure. They now look like going down with a whimper.

While Sunderland boss Roy Keane could celebrate all but ensuring another year in the top flight, the result hit manager Roy Hodgson very hard.

"I'm devastated," said the former Inter Milan and Finland boss. "I can't put on an act. I am really, really saddened by the result. I thought we had a real chance to win.

"I can understand the fans booing at the end. We had to win, so we can't expect pats on the back if we lose 3-1.

"It will be very hard to lift the players, but I'm not giving up. The only positive is that the teams around us also lost."

Fulham, six points adrift with just five games left, are playing for the lives — and it shows.

For all their energy and commitment, there was an air of panic every time they approached the Sunderland goal.

Fulham's nerves could have been eased after 12 minutes when Jimmy Bullard's cross picked out Brian McBride, but the American striker could only find keeper Craig Gordon and it was downhill from then on.

Sunderland's Danny Collins had a 'goal' disallowed for a tug on Paul Konchesky, but in the final minute of the first half, Collins had the final say, converting Daryl Murphy's cross to put the visitors ahead.

Fulham regrouped and came out for the second half believing they could still bounce back and win. Sunderland took just nine minutes to puncture those hopes. Gordon's punt upfield was headed on by Kenwyne Jones into the path of Michael Chopra who scored with a deft lob on the volley.

Sunderland have shown Fulham just how to do it with three wins in a row to pull clear of trouble. With time running out, Fulham at least made a fight of it, and pulled back a goal thanks to a glorious strike from David Healy.

The Northern Ireland international pounced on a loose ball and swept a curling shot from 25 yards which beat Gordon's desperate dive.

But Fulham's hopes of a dramatic recovery lasted less than two minutes.

Just as soon as they had got back into the match, some desperate defending allowed Sunderland to restore their two-goal advantage.

Dean Whitehead squared the ball to Jones, whose first touch was poor but whose second was decisive, sweeping the ball into the bottom corner to confirm Sunderland's first victory in London in 23 visits to the capital.

The giant striker from Trinidad and Tobago then embarked on his acrobatic celebration of summersaults and back flips. The routine only rubbed salt into Fulham's wounds, as it is they who are doing the tumbling.

The Sunderland manager warned against complacency. "We've won three in a row at the right time, but we are not safe yet," said Keane. "We've been lucky. We're not playing well, but have won.

"I've made four or five hundred big mistakes this season, but you have to learn from them," he said.