Sunderland manager David Moyes has called on his players to summon the spirit of recent survival bids as they once again look to avoid relegation from the Premier League this season.
The Black Cats have regularly embarked on late-season purple patches to ensure their Premier League status in recent years, but with just 11 games remaining this term they sit bottom of the table and six points from safety.
Sunderland are not in action this weekend due to Middlesbrough's involvement in the FA Cup, but Moyes is hopeful that his players will begin to peak when they return against Burnley a week on Saturday.
"At this moment in time it is the job that everyone knows what we have to do. It is important for us as a team and important for everyone in this region. For the workers around the club it means an awful lot so we carry a lot of responsibility to make sure we make it happen," he told the club's official website.
"We have been in this position before and I'm hoping the experience of being in this position will make us better and help us with this run-in. This is the time of the season you need your players to come into form and show what they are capable of.
"Players at the top peak at the right time to win leagues or win cups and Manchester United had a great habit under Sir Alex of timing that well. I think Sunderland have got that great habit of timing it well so that they aren't relegated. We don't want to be in this position but we are here and we need to use every bit of experience we have got to get out of it."
Sunderland have lost their last three games without scoring and have won just one of their last 10 in the league.
Barney Corkhill
