High Stakes
Danny Collins
By The Black Cats
May 1 2009
Danny Collins shares his thoughts on Sunderland's survival in their current Barclay's Premier League relegation battle. Collins has been relegated before with the Black Cats and does not want to go through those emotions again.
"I've been part of a Sunderland team that was relegated a couple of seasons back and, to put it mildly, it wasn't a nice feeling," Collins said.
"It's certainly not something you want on your CV. I don't want to go through anything like that again and I know the other players feel the same. The fans don't deserve it and we have to make sure we move up the league as quickly as possible.
"Going back three years, it wasn't a nice place to be around. We were almost going out onto the pitch thinking we were going to be beaten, but there's none of that atmosphere here now. There's still a really good spirit amongst the boys. We've got a good set of lads and a few vocal characters - when the time's right we have a laugh and a joke - and I don't think the boys would let it get flat.
"I try to give my all every week, but we know we were disappointing last weekend. We don't want to get dragged back towards the bottom-three, but if perform like we did against West Brom then we will do. But we have to remember that compared to the other teams we're in a good spot. It's not as if we're ten points adrift like we have been in the past. It's all in our hands.
"The Everton game is a great opportunity for us to put things right and show people what the real Sunderland is all about. We owe the management and the fans a good performance. It's in front of the cameras and it's a big game. We'll know the results of the other teams by then, but we've just go to look after ourselves. It's no good going through the last four games hoping they'll get beaten. We've got to make things happen and pick up points."
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