Sunderland manager Dick Advocaat has predicted that the Premier League survival race will be a close run battle.
Sunderland manager Dick Advocaat has told the Northern Echo that he expects the Premier League survival fight to go right down to the wire.
Sunderland are currently in the bottom three, but they are only one point from safety and have the likes of Hull City, Leicester City, Newcastle United and Aston Villa within touching distance.
The volume of teams involved means that Advocaat thinks that it could take until the final day for his side’s fate to be decided, and he is hoping that they will be celebrating at the end of the season.
“It’s definitely important to keep pressure on the other teams,” Advocaat said. “Burnley lost (on Saturday) and Queens Park Rangers lost, and we have made a difference between them and us.
“We have also got closer to the teams above us, and now maybe also Newcastle with 35 points and difficult games to come. They also have to play a team below us (QPR), so I think it will go on until the end.”
Sunderland appear to be at a disadvantage in the relegation fight, not only because they are currently in the bottom three, but because their fixture list is not the most inviting.
The Black Cats still have tough games against Everton, Leicester City, Arsenal and Chelsea to come and they will have to raise their performance levels if they are to be successful.
Sunderland have struggled to find the winning formula all season, but they have little time left to work it out.
The encouraging thing for Black Cats fans is that they do have some momentum going into their final four matches, as they beat Southampton in their last fixture.
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