SANTIAGO VERGINI has admitted that Sunderland cannot afford to go into the final two games of the season with their Premier League status in serious jeopardy.

With the game that was due to have taken place at Arsenal last weekend having been rescheduled for the final midweek of the season, the Black Cats will end the campaign with back-to-back away games at Arsenal and Chelsea.

Last year’s ‘Great Escape’ proved the formbook can go out of the window in the final stages of the season, but it would still be a huge challenge if Sunderland were to head to the Emirates and Stamford Bridge knowing they needed a significant points haul to secure their top-flight survival.

With that in mind, the next four games are especially crucial, with the Black Cats heading to Stoke’s Britannia Stadium on Saturday to kick off a run of matches that will also see them travel to Everton as well as host Southampton and Leicester at the Stadium of Light.

Dick Advocaat’s side are currently one point clear of the relegation zone, although the bottom third of the table is set to become even more congested with Burnley and Leicester due to meet at Turf Moor this weekend.

“In an ideal world, we would win the next three or four games and then we could enjoy the rest of the season,” said Vergini, who is set to continue alongside John O’Shea at the heart of the back four at Stoke in the continued absence of the injured Wes Brown.

“All of the games will be difficult, and we will have to work extremely hard to get any result. In an ideal situation though, we would go into those last two games not needing to get a result.”

Stoke striker Peter Crouch is unlikely to start Saturday’s game as he is nursing a groin injury that will severely limit his involvement between now and the end of the season.

“We’re just trying to manage him through games, so 20 to 25 minutes is probably the maximum that he can be effective,” admitted Potters boss Mark Hughes.