Gus Poyet has admitted he is not enjoying life as he tries to mould Sunderland into a winning team.
The Black Cats invested heavily to bring England striker Jermain Defoe back to the Premier League earlier this month in an attempt to give them the firepower they have been so badly lacking.
But two games into his career on Wearside, Defoe is yet to find the back of the net with head coach Poyet desperately trying to implement a system which will get the best out of the 32-year-old.
That has proved a source of huge frustration for the Uruguayan, who will send his side into battle with Burnley on Saturday knowing the club could have reached a pivotal point in their season.
Asked if he was frustrated, Poyet said: "Yes, I am, yes. I don't like it. I hate losing and I don't like it when I don't win wherever we play.
"We haven't won too many this year, so I am not really enjoying the way we are playing or the way we are getting results, not at all.
"During the season, you have got special moments. This is a big, massive game. Listen, the next game is the most important, and this one in particular is very important.
"Now, I don't want to call it any special name because then we start talking about 'finals' and things. But there are games and games, and this one is a very important one. I think it could be the turning point."
Sunderland's need is illustrated by the fact that they have won only one of the 11 league games they have played at the Stadium of Light to date this season and scored only 19 goals in 22 home and away fixtures, a return which has left them sitting in 16th place in the table, ahead of Burnley only on goal difference.
Poyet hopes that after addressing one of those issues with the capture of Defoe, the other will take care of itself, and he is not at all concerned that the former Tottenham frontman is yet to open his account.
He said: "The more we talk, the longer it's going to look. I'm not bothered, not bothered. He will score.
"We need to do a few things better, we need to play more like when we played with 10 at home in the last two games rather than how we played with 11, because then he will have more chances.
"There are some things that we need to do better, but I am not thinking about how long it's going to take Jermain to score, not at all.
"I am thinking about winning as well. I think Jermain wants to win as well. The quicker we win, the more chances he will get in the future."
Defoe, who left Toronto in a swap deal with Jozy Altidore, is likely to be the only significant arrival this month, and Poyet is not envisaging any high-profile departures barring "something incredible or something surprising" ahead of Monday's transfer deadline.
What was perhaps not surprising was the revelation this week that Sunderland have appeared last on the BBC's Match of the Day show more often than any other club, although Poyet insists he will be quite happy to burn the midnight oil on Saturday night if his team wins.
He said: "I don't care about Match of the Day, they can do whatever they like. I only care about winning -- and if we win boring, 1-0 in the last minute and we are the last team on Match of the Day, I will stay up until 11.30pm or 12am to watch it."