Following a recent run of form that has surpassed all expectations on Wearside, Sunderland legend Kevin Phillips believes his former club have given themselves a ‘real chance’ of retaining their Premier League status.
Now within a single point of safety, the Black Cats have enjoyed a promising run in February, taking four points from games against Liverpool and Manchester United, as well as seriously troubling Manchester City at the start of the month. According to Phillips, in his article for ChronicleLive, this set of fixtures has cemented Sunderland’s place as the form team in the Premier League relegation mix.
“They have built up some momentum, and that is crucial when you are fighting a relegation battle,” said the former England international.
“I still expect the relegation battle to go right to the wire, but Sunderland have given themselves a real chance now.”
To further reinforce his opinion that the Wearsiders are currently in the driving seat, Phillips looked to the situation that Leicester City – another of his former clubs – were in last campaign, before they marched out of the bottom three to safety.
“Sunderland’s predicament right now is nowhere near as bad as Leicester’s last season.”
“For one thing, they are only a point behind fourth place while Leicester were seven points adrift before that late run.”
Phillips also pointed out that Leicester only had nine games to complete their turnaround last year, whereas this time around, Sunderland have a dozen games to play.
Sam Allardyce’s side will be looking to build on this momentum on Saturday, when they head to the Boleyn Ground to take on West Ham.
