Sunderland keeper reveals why this has been one of the 'craziest' seasons he has been involved in

Vito Mannone in action for Sunderland against SpursVito Mannone in action for Sunderland against Spurs
Vito Mannone in action for Sunderland against Spurs
Sunderland stopper Vito Mannone has described the 2016-17 campaign so far as one of the "craziest" he has ever been involved in.

Sunderland have been hit with a series of injury blows over the course of the season with Jordan Pickford, Lee Cattermole, Jan Kirchhoff and Victor Anichebe currently on the list of players unavailable to manager David Moyes.

At one stage in January, Moyes was almost without an entire starting line-up through injury as the club battles against relegation.

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The Black Cats are bottom of the Premier League, five points from safety ahead of the huge clash with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

Mannone, who started the season as number one, missed a few months at the beginning of the campaign with an elbow injury but was recalled to first team action after the injury picked up by Pickford.

And the Italian - who has been in his fair share of relegation scraps with Sunderland - is looking to use his experience to help steer the club away from danger.

"It has been one of the craziest seasons that I've been through," Mannone told Sky Sports News HQ.

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"Obviously we've had a lot of bad injuries but at the end of the day we kept the team together, we kept working hard, we went through difficult moments but we're still in touch with those above us, that's the main thing.

"I'm always trying to use my experience and after being involved in a few survivals I've learned a few things and I always try to pass it on to my team-mates, especially the boys who are new to the Premier League or just new to the team.

"We need to help them and to pass on as much as possible and be counted when it's needed."

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