Sunderland have found the knack of surviving in the Premier League...here's how

Picture gallery from last nights game here

Since Roy Keane led the Black Cats out of the Championship in 2007, the club has been established in the top-flight, but without being the force Niall Quinn nor Ellis Short had envisaged.

Nevertheless Sunderland are on the verge of survival once again, they just need to deliver a further three points against the Toffees.

Here’s a look at Sunderland’s last nine years in the Premier League, where relegation run-ins and great escapes have become the norm.

2007/08 – position 15th

Sunderland had their ups and downs during their first season back in the Premier League under Roy Keane and the prospect of relegation increased when they suffered back-to-back defeats in April against Manchester City and Newcastle.

The response was to avoid relegation in dramatic fashion by sealing a last-minute winner against Middlesbrough in a 3-2 victory at the Stadium of Light courtesy of an own goal from Emmanuel Pogatetz.

Even though Sunderland suffered back to back defeats to Bolton and Arsenal to finish the season, they ended three points clear of the relegation zone.

2008/09 - position 16th

IT was not so much a great escape, more a painful crawl over the line. It is not too harsh to suggest the only reason Sunderland stayed up was because of how poor Newcastle and Middlesbrough (who both went down) were.

Sunderland effectively edged over the line in the third last game by sealing a point at Bolton, when a relieved Niall Quinn went to the dressing room afterwards to celebrate.

After Keane left in the December, Ricky Sbragia tried to steady the ship but struggled. They survived despite claiming just one win from their last 13 matches, losing a staggering nine.

2009/10 – position 13th

It might not have been Sunderland’s best finish, but it was certainly the biggest margin that they have managed to stay up by in the last nine seasons. Darren Bent’s 24 goals, after his record-busting move from Tottenham, were a significant factor as Steve Bruce’s reign got off to a great start.

Relegation concerns increased when Sunderland failed to a league game between November 21 and March 9 – a run of 14 matches. But they won five of their last 11 – losing four – to climb back up the table.

2010/11 – position 10th

IF you look at the final league table from this year then it reads well. Sunderland secured a first top-ten finish since the Peter Reid era. It was not as simple as that, though. They finished eight points clear of the relegation zone, largely down to victories over Wigan, Bolton and West Ham in their final five matches. The £24m sale of Bent to Aston Villa in the January almost proved costly as they lost 11 of their 15 games in the league after that.

2011/12 – position 13th

Picture: Raoul Dixon/North News & Pictures

The problems after Bent’s exit continued and ultimately led to Bruce being sacked in November after winning just two of his opening 14 games that season. The arrival of Martin O’Neill proved the catalyst for a climb away from trouble.

O’Neill ended up winning nine of his Premier League games before a FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Everton led to a slump of a further nine winless games to end the season. They only lost four of those, but ended nine points clear of third from bottom Bolton.

2012/13 – position 17th

Picture: Will Walker / North News & Pictures

Sunderland struggled to get going all season under O’Neill, so Ellis Short took the decision to sack him after the defeat to Manchester United on March 30. Enter Paolo Di Canio.

The controversial Italian’s appointment caused a split among fans, but galvanised the group and brought rewards in the short-term. After losing at Chelsea, Sunderland famously won at Newcastle when Di Canio celebrated by sliding on his knees down the touchline.

That was followed by a rare victory over Everton and safety was guaranteed when they collected two further points against Stoke and Southampton sandwiched between defeats to Aston Villa and Tottenham. Sunderland finished three points above third bottom Wigan and two behind Newcastle.

2013/14 – position 14th

A disastrous summer on the recruitment front under the director of football model spearheaded by Roberto de Fanti led to carnage in the dressing room. Di Canio was effectively forced out by player power after losing six of the opening seven winless games in the league. Step forward Gus Poyet.

But after losing the Capital One Cup final at Wembley, it was all about top-flight survival and they looked doomed for the Championship when Poyet claimed they needed a miracle after losing 5-1 at Tottenham on April 7. They were seven points from safety with six games to play.

Somehow they followed up a draw with title-chasing Manchester City by winning at Chelsea and then defeated Cardiff, Manchester United and West Brom to pull off a truly great escape – and could thank Connor Wickham for his five-goal spurt during that run.

2014/15 – position 16th

Like Poyet and Di Canio before him, this was Dick Adcvocaat’s time to save Sunderland after the former’s departure with nine matches remaining. Advocaat tearfully fell into the arms of long-time assistant Bert van Lingen after securing the point they needed at Arsenal 12 months ago to keep Sunderland up.

The 68-year-old made Sunderland difficult to beat and after starting with a defeat at West Ham he followed that up by beating the Magpies. He lost just two of the remaining seven matches, winning two to stay up when all had seemed lost weeks earlier.

2015/16 –

It's all about tonight's visit of Everton with Sam Allardyce, who replaced Advocaat in October after another depressing start, in charge. Climbing away from the bottom three has not gone as smoothly as Allardyce would have liked, but they are on the verge of putting Newcastle and Norwich down. A run of just two defeats from their last 12 has put them in sight of survival. Win tonight and Allardyce’s focus can turn to next season – and on how to avoid yet another battle against the drop.