The Baggies are rooted to the foot of the Barclays Premier League table after being trounced 4-0 by the managerless Black Cats at the Stadium of Light yesterday.

However, 24-year-old Richardson, who played a key role in the club's famous fight for survival in 2004-05 during a loan spell from Manchester United, believes they can launch a similar fightback.

He said: "It's hard down at the bottom, but they have done it before and I am sure they can get out of it again.

"If you have done it once, you can do it again.

"They are not a bad side. They play their football and I am sure their manager will do his best to try to get them out of there."

However, Tony Mowbray's men will have little chance of pulling off a second great escape if they defend as poorly as they did at Sunderland and continue to lack a cutting edge at the other end of the field.

West Brom arrived in the north-east having lost striker Ishmael Miller for the remainder of the season with a cruciate ligament injury, but hopeful of cashing in on the anxiety surrounding their hosts in the wake of Roy Keane's departure as manager.

However, their game-plan was undone within 23 minutes when striker Kenwyne Jones helped himself to a quickfire double, and things simply went from bad to worse.

Andy Reid made it 3-0 with a header six minutes before the half-time whistle brought temporary respite, and after substitute Roman Bednar, introduced at the break in a bid to give his side a goal-threat, handled in the box within a minute of his arrival, Djibril Cisse completed the rout from the penalty spot.

Mowbray was philosophical in defeat, but admitted his side had got exactly what they deserved.

He said: "It was tough afternoon, but I can't sit here and complain about anything.

"We didn't compete well enough in the first half and if anything, it epitomised our season a little bit.

"For 20, 25 minutes, we looked fine, looked comfortable, and then the first couple of balls into our box, we were 2-0 down.

"We conceded four goals, so it is no good me talking about a cutting edge today. We didn't defend well enough, bottom line."

Bednar missed a gilt-edged-chance to register when he headed over from close range on the hour, although with his team already 4-0 down, the miss was hardly costly.

However, Mowbray is well aware of his side's deficiencies in front of goal.

He said: "We have talked about needing some strikers and needing a cutting edge because most weeks, we have been in every game, we have had chances and missed them.

"In the second half, we had a few chances and missed them, and if you don't score goals in any football match at any level, you aren't going to win any games.

"The evidence is there - if you look at the Sunderland strikers, they were a constant menace.

"Every week, I sit and talk about the strikers in the opposition side who are a menace wherever you are playing, and on Saturday, it was no different."

The Baggies are now without a win in 10 league games, a run which has brought them just two points from a possible 30.