Sebastian Larsson believes Sunderland can stay up after past experiences
Monday 6 March 2017 11:35, UK
Sebastian Larsson hopes past experience can count in Sunderland's favour as they look to get out of relegation trouble once more.
Sunday's 2-0 defeat to Manchester City leaves David Moyes' side bottom of the Premier League and six points from safety with 11 games to play.
Yet if there is a side which has the know-how in terms of getting out of danger, it is probably the Wearside outfit after four close calls in as many seasons.
Having managed to escape the drop each time, Larsson retains faith Moyes' team can climb the table and stay up yet again.
The Swede said: "The position we are in, we have been there before. We have been in a similar situation with four or five games left to go.
"Of course we are not going to give in - why would we? It's about picking up a few back-to-back results and all of a sudden, things change.
"I know it's easier said than done, but of course we are going to keep going and keep believing we are going to do it.
"As long as there are enough games to get enough points, that's what we are going to do."
Middlesbrough and Hull are the other sides in the bottom three, with Crystal Palace currently occupying the coveted 17th position after their 2-0 win over West Brom on Saturday.
While keeping an awareness of what needs to be done because of results elsewhere is vital, Larsson has stressed the importance of not being distracted by what other teams do.
He added: "Of course you know what's going on, it would be silly of me to say anything else. Of course you do.
"Of course you would like the other teams not to win but over the course of a season that's not going to happen.
"You know roughly what is required points-wise to stay in this league and regardless of what the other teams do, it's going to end up being somewhere around that tally, the way it's been the last few years.
"We need to reach that. It's up to us to get enough points and, if we get to that sort of level, we'll be okay. If we don't, we obviously won't be okay."
