Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe insists the squad has a lot of fighting spirit left as they look to stay up again this season.

The Black Cats have been marooned around the bottom three for most of the campaign although they still stand a good chance of surviving.

Sunderland’s 3-0 win at fellow strugglers Norwich last weekend moved them to within a point of the Canaries, and safety in the top flight, with five games left to go.

The Wearsiders, who are 1.73 to be relegated, have a game in hand over Norwich and Defoe believes there are many reasons to feel positive.

Defoe is the top scorer for Sunderland this season with 13 strikes following his latest effort in the crucial triumph over Norwich.

The former Tottenham striker insists there is a great feeling throughout the squad and he expects their spirit to carry them through.

The 33-year-old said: “Everyone is together and there is a fighting spirit.

“You just know going into every game that everyone is going to fight for each other and do whatever it takes to stay up.

“With our quality I think we will definitely get the points we need, but the spirit is also so important.

“If you look back at the history of the Premier League and back to when Manchester United were dominating, the players always used to say their spirit was unbelievable and that’s why they won all the trophies because the squad was together.

“That’s what we have here.”