Dazzler Defoe relishes hat-trick joy on '˜special night' for Sunderland

The 33-year-old scored three times in the crucial 4-2 win over Swansea City to give the Black Cats’ survival hopes a major boost.

Victory lifts Sam Allardyce’s side to within a point of safety, with Defoe the hero at the Liberty Stadium.

He opened the scoring after three minutes from close range before adding two more in the second half of an exhilarating Premier League contest against 10-man Swans.

“If you get the chances you have to put them away,” said a beaming Defoe.

“I was delighted on a personal note to score a hat-trick, it was special and it was an important hat-trick too.

“Sometimes you need a little bit of luck.

“I thought I’d got one at Villa! Hopefully my good run will continue.

“You just try and enjoy your football.

“I am here to score goals. As soon as the whistle went I was running after the football!

“It is a big factor we have goals in the team, we have players that can score.”

Defoe now has five goals in his last two Premier League matches and nine in the league this season.

It begs the question if he has one eye on the Euro 2016 tournament and an England recall.

But modest Defoe says it is now in his power.

He added: “It is not up to me, it is up to the manager!”

Cradling the signed matchball, Defoe was quick to heap praise on his team-mates for their efforts in securing a second successive win ahead of the Tottenham Hotspur game.

Defoe added: “The team performance was brilliant, from the goalkeeper through.

“Everyone did their job and we were very organised, very compact.

“The manager wanted more energy and for us to push on more, when you get your chances, take them. We did that.

“You’d rather play against 10 than 11, playing against 10 is easier as you can get the ball down and play.

“Going into the second half, I knew we would create those chances, you just need to be ruthless.

“At the end of the day, football is about results. This is massive for us.”