Sunderland's survival hopes were dented once more after a2-0 defeat fromManchester City on Sunday, but arguably it was the side's best performance in a while.
Defender Billy Jones told The Chronicle that he and his team-mates discussed that level of performance and everyone agreed that they have to emulate thatlevel if Sunderland are to have any chance of surviving relegation once more this season.
That's the talk in the dressing room amongst ourselves that we need to hit that level, hit that standard, keep up that workrate, and have that application not just against the likes of Man City but against every team in this league."
You have to be on it always, or else you'll be punished.
We have to hit that level of performance in every game until the end of the season and hope it will be enough to keep us in this league."
Sunderland are six points from safety andhave eleven games to save their season and do have a couple of tricky matches before the end of the season, including trips to the Emirates and Stamford Bridge as ahome fixture against Manchester United
However, the telling ties will be the games against thesides just above them in the table. Sunderland play Leicester, Bournemouth, Hull and Swansea before the end of the season and these are the games David Moyes and his team will pinpoint as must win games.