Sunderland hero Defoe relishes '˜special' return to Tottenham

Jermain Defoe holds off Swansea's Neil Taylor last night

The 4-2 victory, Sunderland’s first win at Swansea since 1963, lifted the Black Cats above Newcastle into third-bottom spot, now just a point off safety.

Next up is Saturday’s trip to Tottenham before another huge clash with relegation rivals Bournemouth on January 23 – facing two of Defoe’s former clubs.

Defoe said: “The Tottenham and Bournemouth games are huge – on a personal note it will be special going to the Lane.

“We go there confident though.

“It is important we recover and look forward to the next game.”

With this weekend’s game against Spurs a lunchtime kick-off, Sunderland have no time to bask in this win.

“You don’t want to be down there, you’d love to be in a comfortable position,” added Defoe when asked whether the club’s experience in battling the drop is a positive.

“But in the position we are, you have to raise your game.

“It is a lot of pressure, the rewards are big to stay in the Premier League.

“We just keep fighting - we don’t have a choice with the manager we have!

“The manager has always been calm though. He gives us the basis to go and win games.

“We have a strong squad and everyone is positive.

“Hopefully we can kick on, the lads are confident.”