Interim boss Mike Dodds says he is working day-to-day and will make preparations for Sunderland's midweek trip to Cheltenham until told otherwise.
U23 coach Dodds was put in temporary charge of the side, along with fellow coach Michael Proctor, following Lee Johnson's sacking last weekend in the wake of the 6-0 defeat at Bolton.
And his time at the helm got off to the worst possible start as the Black Cats were beaten 2-1 by bottom-of-the-table Doncaster Rovers.
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Sunderland are continuing to search for a new head coach, but in the meantime Dodds will carry on in interim charge and says it is a 'massive privilege' to be given that opportunity.
"I'm literally working day-to-day," he said.
"It's a massive privilege for me to represent this football club.
"I hope they do get someone in [as head coach before Tuesday] but if I'm needed then I will do this job to the best of my ability.
"Like I said to the players on Monday, it's not about me, it's about giving them the best platform to perform.
"That hasn't happened today, so I'm going to have to reflect on why that is."
Sunderland trailed 2-0 at half-time against Doncaster in front of a crowd of more than 38,000 at the Stadium of Light, with Reo Griffiths and Tommy Rowe scoring the goals with Dodds admitting that that first half display was 'unacceptable'.
Corry Evans pulled a goal back right at the death, but it was too little, too late for Sunderland.
And now Dodds is determined to prepare the team as well as he can, because a third successive defeat on Tuesday night would deepen the sense of crisis.
Dodds said: "We have to dust ourselves down and accept the fact that the spell in the first half was not unacceptable.
"We know that period, and I'm the captain of the ship this week, we know that's unacceptable in front of 39,000 fans.
"We'll be back in tomorrow and making sure the preparation is as good as it possibly can be.
"Let's not shy away from the facts, a club of this size should not lose three games on the bounce regardless of what division it's in.
"We are very, very aware of the importance of these games.
"The next 48, 72 hours will be very important for us."
Dodds took responsibility for the performance at result against Doncaster, adding: "Ultimately, it's about the collective.
"That result is not solely on the players, it's on me and the backroom staff. We’ve prepared them for the game, selected the team, made the subs at the time we did.
"There are a lot of decisions we made and I'll take the criticism if it's laid at my door.
"We will have honest conversations in the morning and I'll more than welcome their feedback on that.
“We'll be back in at 8.30 tomorrow morning, and I'll lead that. The lads who haven't played will train, the lads who have will have recovery.
"I'll set up meetings with the players so we can have those conversations about the game.
"If I'm then needed on Monday, I will work as hard as I can. I'll work as hard as I can to get this magnificent football club out of this league."
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