They are not the winners and they are not losers either (7-2)
I believe the answer is:
runners-up
'they' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are plural nouns.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'not the winners and they are not losers either' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'not' could be 'un' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'un' is found in the answer.
'and' could be 'n' (common abbreviation for 'and') and 'n' is found in the answer.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).
'are' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for runners-up that I've seen before include "They get silver" , "Those not quite winning" , "Those in second place" , "Silver medallists" , "Near winners" .)