Sunderland boss David Moyes insists his target of five wins to stay up is 'realistic'

The Black Cats are six points adrift of safety ahead of a free weekend after Saturday's game against relegation rivals Middlesbrough was postponed due to their ongoing involvement in the FA Cup.

Sunderland are not in action again until they host Burnley at the Stadium of Light next weekend but Moyes insists the win target he has set his squad in order to stay up is achievable.

Moyes' squad has it all to do, though, if they are to spark an upturn in fortunes with just one win so far in 2017 - the 4-0 demolition of Crystal Palace.

"Five wins is realistic and I think that is what is going to be needed for us to get out of it," said Moyes, who is banking on a late winning run in order to keep the Cats up.

"We’ve got games coming up that are winnable and that present chances to win.

"It is a brilliant football club in terms of the infrastructure, the stadium and the support.

"The amount of supporters that come to open days and matches is great. It is a close community up here between the players and the supporters.

"There is a general feeling of closeness and I hope the supporters are part of the club because we see them being in here.

"We don’t want to let them down and we want to do well. If we stick together, keep the group tight then we will get some results in the end."

Meanwhile, Darron Gibson has revealed he has been pleasantly surprised by the strong spirit in the Sunderland dressing room since arriving in January.

Sunderland are rooted to the foot of the Premier League but the 29-year-old says the spirit remains high despite the perilous situation facing the Black Cats.

"There’s a good team spirit in the dressing room and a great attitude," admitted the former Everton midfielder.

"I didn’t think the spirit would be as good as it is but the spirits are high and hopefully now after that trip away we can kick on and get some results.

"We’ve been in worse positions and done it and it’s still very tight at the bottom of the league.

"Anything can happen and if we get a few wins then pressure will be massively on the other teams."

"We’ve just got to worry about ourselves," he told the club website.