JERMAIN DEFOE has challenged his Sunderland team-mates to take at least four points from the club’s next two matches in order to ensure their fate remains in their own hands ahead of the final game of the season.

The Black Cats’ 1-1 draw with Stoke City means they have slipped a point behind North-East rivals Newcastle United in the battle to remain in the Premier League, but like Norwich City, who are currently a point below them, they continue to have a game in hand over the Magpies.

With Newcastle travelling to already-relegated Aston Villa on Saturday, and seemingly destined for another three points, Sunderland’s superior goal difference means they need to take at least four points from their back-to-back home games with Chelsea and Everton to ensure they are above Rafael Benitez’s side heading into the final game, no matter what happens at Villa Park.

Norwich cannot be ruled out of the equation despite their weekend defeat to Arsenal, and with the Canaries due to face Manchester United and Watford in their next two matches, Alex Neil’s side could yet leapfrog both Newcastle and Sunderland before facing Everton on the final day.

Defoe’s key aim is to keep his side’s fate in their own hands, and he expects the next two matches to go a long way towards determining which league the Black Cats find themselves in next season.

“We have to use these next two games to get ourselves into a situation where we’re out of the bottom three going into the last game of the season,” said the striker, who salvaged a point when he scored a stoppage-time equaliser from the penalty spot at Stoke. “Whatever else happens, we want to be going to Watford knowing that if we win, we’re definitely safe.

“That’s the challenge for the next two games. It’s going to be a massive game on the last day of the season, but that’s the reality of the position we’re in. It is what it is, and we’ll have to see what happens. But one thing I can guarantee is that I know the lads are going to put everything into this.

“We’ll be doing everything we can to stay up. It’s not going to be easy – nothing is in this league – but hopefully we’ll get the results like we did last year.

“I think it helps that we’ve got two home games. I can imagine the atmosphere is going to be electric, and I’m looking forward to that. I think that will help us, and I think we’ll do it.”

With Sunderland having fallen back into the bottom three at the weekend, the pressure could hardly be more intense as Sam Allardyce’s side prepare for the visit of Chelsea and Everton. Neither opponent has anything significant to play for, but Chelsea have been in good form under caretaker boss Guus Hiddink and Everton’s players are battling to keep Roberto Martinez in a job.

Sunderland cannot afford to slip up in either game, but the identity of their next two opponents invites comparisons to the last two seasons, both of which saw the Black Cats survive despite being in an extremely precarious position in the final month of the campaign.

Two years ago, Sunderland beat Chelsea 2-1 at Stamford Bridge as part of Gus Poyet’s ‘Great Escape’, and last season, a 2-0 win at Everton at the start of May was a key moment in Dick Advocaat’s successful survival campaign.

“They’re massive games now – games that we need to win,” said Defoe. “There’ll be a lot of pressure, but the lads have handled that and done it before, even before my time here.

“There’s a lot of the lads in that dressing room who have done it before, and that’s important. We know how to get out of it, and we know what we have to do. We just have to get the results and win the games, it’s as simple as that.

“Obviously it’s not going to be easy, but if you have that belief, that’s the most important thing. If you have that belief, it doesn’t matter who you play against, you’ll get wins.”

Defoe certainly proved he can handle the pressure at the weekend, drawing a foul from Geoff Cameron in the second minute of stoppage time before successfully converting from the spot.

“In that situation, you just go into a zone,” he said. “I was confident to be honest. I was thinking, ‘This is my moment – I’m going to score’. Then when it hits the back of the net, it’s a relief.

“You could be the best player in the world, but it’s you against the goalkeeper and anything can happen. But I was always confident.”