Hull have endured a miserable 10-match winless run - their last victory coming over Crystal Palace on October 4 - leaving them second from bottom at Christmas.
The barren sequence comes despite heavy investment during the last transfer window, with the likes of Abel Hernandez, Gaston Ramirez and Mohamed Diame all moving the KC Stadium.
"Of course it's been the most difficult [period]," he said. "We've been here two-and-a-half years and if we think it's all going to go one way we're kidding ourselves.
"It's incredible how three or four losses can turn into not winning in 10 or whatever it is.
"We have to get back to winning ways. The squad and myself, nothing has changed.
"It's amazing what a win and a bit of confidence can do, let's hope it's in the near future and we can get our season back on track because I'm still convinced we can finish above where we did last year."
Part of Hull's troubles has been the absence of several key players and the likes of Michael Dawson (hamstring) and Diame (knee) miss Friday's trip to the Stadium of Light through injury, prompting the recalls of Tom Ince and Maynor Figueroa from respective loan spells at Nottingham Forest and Wigan Athletic.
Despite their recent woe, Hull can take confidence from the fact they beat Sunderland three times last season - including a 2-0 triumph in February's corresponding fixture in the previous campaign.
Gus Poyet's side head into the match with a huge morale boost, though, after Adam Johnson's 90th-minute winner earned a 1-0 derby victory at Newcastle United on Sunday.
