(Reuters) - Attacking midfielder Fabio Borini said he was confident Sunderland will be playing in the Premier League next season after their 3-0 win over Norwich City, who are also fighting relegation.
The victory on Saturday at Carrow Road meant that Sam Allardyce's men have closed the gap from Norwich to just one point and have the opportunity to step out of the bottom-three when they host fourth-placed Arsenal on Sunday.
"We know that there's such a difference between staying up and going down," Borini, who scored first in Saturday's game, told British media.
With a new domestic broadcast deal representing a 70-percent increase in next season's revenues, Borini said the players understand what is at stake for the club.
"I think there's more pressure to fight relegation than to win the league, because you're playing for so much. We're used to doing these things unfortunately, but we'll keep going and I'm sure we'll stay up," he said.
"To be honest, it would be better if we didn't do it and just stayed up normally. But if it's the case that we have to wait until the end, then we're going to do it."