The Black Cats slipped to their fourth successive defeat at Old Trafford on Saturday evening as Louis Saha came off the substitutes' bench to remind Sir Alex Ferguson of what he has been missing with the game's only goal.

After losing at Wigan and at home to title hopefuls Liverpool before suffering Carling Cup humiliation at League One side Luton, Roy Keane's men went a long way towards repairing the damage in Manchester.

However, Higginbotham, who along with £6million striker Kenwyne Jones, was handed a debut at the Theatre of Dreams, knows things must start to turn with Reading's visit to the Stadium of Light after the international break.

He said: "I have only trained with the lads a couple of times, but I can see from their attitude to training and the way we played on Saturday that we can be very optimistic.

"We were devastated to lose at Old Trafford, and I think that's a good sign because we got a lot of positives from the performance.

"Ultimately, you are never going to be happy to lose, but if we show the same organisation and belief for the rest of the season, then I know we will be fine."

Former United trainee Higginbotham, 28, had been on Keane's radar for several months when he finally clinched his £3million switch to Wearside last week.

The chance to return to the top flight, and to play for a man who commands such respect, was one he simply could not refuse and he is relishing the chance to help Sunderland make the most of their £35million-plus summer spending spree.

He said: "We don't have to be worried about this run and let any fear come into our play.

"It is great to be at Sunderland. It's a dream for me to be back among the big boys and making my debut at Old Trafford said everything about why this is the best league to be in.

"We can be ambitious for the rest of the season and I'm really looking forward to it."

Saha's 72nd-minute strike finally broke the Black Cats' stubborn resistance on a day when Higginbotham and his team-mates limited Ferguson's misfiring side to a handful of genuine chances.

However, a momentary lapse in concentration at the back allowed the Frenchman to see the Red Devils at home and leave the visitors with nothing to show for their efforts once again.

Higginbotham told the Sunderland Echo: "The way we lost was the biggest disappointment because we restricted a very dangerous team to efforts from outside the box for most of the game.

"One lapse was the difference. All the lads were gutted to concede like that, but we gave everything we had and we can keep our heads up.

"Craig Gordon made some good saves at times, but I thought every man out there performed well and on another day, we might have got something.

"That's the Premier League, that's the quality you are up against and you are not going to get away with it at this level."