Sunderland's Dick Advocaat: 'No sense in focusing on relegation rivals'

Sunderland head coach Dick Advocaat has insisted that he will not be focusing on the teams around him battling to retain their Premier League statuses.

The Black Cats are currently one point adrift of safety with five games left to go before their season is out.

Just five points separate them from the four teams above them, but Advocaat has insisted that he is solely focused on Sunderland's fixture list.

"We know what we have to do," Advocaat told reporters. "If we get the six, seven points, then I'm sure we will stay up. There's no sense in looking so much at other teams. It helps sometimes when they lose, but we still have to do it by ourselves."

Sunderland will take on Southampton at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.