JERMAIN DEFOE has launched a withering attack on former boss Dick Adovcaat’s pre-season preparations, and claimed Sunderland would not be in a relegation battle had their players not been unfit at the start of the season.

The Black Cats, who entertain Arsenal in two days’ time, are one point adrift of safety with five games remaining, having spent the vast majority of the campaign in the bottom three.

They have paid a heavy price for a desperate start that saw them fail to win their opening nine matches, with Advocaat having presided over all bar one of those games before walking away from his position as head coach.

His successor, Sam Allardyce, immediately identified the players’ fitness levels as a major issue, and ordered a series of training drills to build up their sharpness and stamina.

Defoe accepts things were not as they should have been at the start of the season, and claims Sunderland would almost certainly have had more points had they been operating at full tilt from the opening weekend.

“We are where we are because of the start of the season,” said the striker. “We just weren’t good enough – and we weren’t fit enough either.

“If you look at the fitness stats now – the running stats and the high intensity stats, that side of it – we were so far off, so far off where we are now. Look at the (opening) game against Leicester, we were blown away. It was difficult.

“Now, it’s like a different team. The first thing the manager said when he came in, we had a meeting and he said, ‘You’re not fit enough’. He said, ‘I’ll get you fit and that’s all you need’ because we’ve got top players and internationals. But if you can’t run, how are you meant to perform for 95 minutes?

“It’s frustrating but it’s a long season, and it’s been a strange season as well. Now, we just have to stay up and get a decent pre-season because with this group we could really kick on.”

Sunderland’s general fitness levels certainly seemed to be an issue in the early weeks of the season, with the opening two defeats to Leicester and Norwich exposing an inability to keep up with sides who were keen to press the ball at every opportunity.

Under Advocaat, Sunderland’s style was much less intense than it is now, perhaps as a result of the players’ lack of physical sharpness. The contrast between the home defeat to Norwich on the second weekend of the season and the Black Cats’ approach in last weekend’s 3-0 win at Carrow Road was marked, with Allardyce’s side much more pro-active when it came to shutting down the Canaries’ attacking players.

They also created far more chances than in the reverse fixture at the Stadium of Light, with Defoe converting Fabio Borini’s cross in the second half to claim his 16th goal of the season in all competitions.

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Speak to most neutral observers and they will cite Defoe’s presence as a key factor in Sunderland’s favour as they tackle a three-way fight with Norwich and Newcastle for survival. If the former England international can score another three or four goals in the final five games of the season, there is every chance the Black Cats could clamber out of the bottom three.

That responsibility creates a fair amount of pressure, but as he looks ahead to Sunday’s game with his former North London rivals, Arsenal, Defoe insists he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I like hearing things like that, it doesn’t put pressure on me,” he said. “It is what it is at the end of the day – it’s the reality. We need goals because goals win games. I’m a forward, so it’s my job to score them.

“With how we’re playing, I know I’ll get chances. Then it’s just up to me to score. It doesn’t matter who scores as long as you get the points, but as a forward, you’re on the pitch to score goals.

“If we win 1-0 at the weekend and someone else scores, I’ll be happy. But on a personal note, we’ve got five games left and I’d love to score in every game. That’s something I’ll try to do, and if I can do that and we stay up, it’ll be great.”

Defoe’s goal in last May’s 2-0 win at Everton was a major factor in Sunderland surviving last season, and having moved back to England with the intention of keeping the Black Cats in the top-flight, the 33-year-old is determined to fulfil his brief once again.

“When I got the phone call to come here, all I wanted to do was come to the club and score goals, be in a successful team and help the club stay in the Premier League,” he said.

“Coming from Toronto, I always believed I could still score goals in the Premier League, so to get the opportunity was cool. Then I thought, ‘Now I need to go there and do it’. People expect me to score goals because I’ve done it before, and I’ve always had confidence I could carry on doing that.”

* Sunderland youngster Lynden Gooch has signed a new three-year deal that commits him to Wearside to 2019. The American striker, who joined the Black Cats in 2012 having impressed at high-school level in the US, made his senior debut in this season’s Capital One Cup win over Exeter.