IT was German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche who first said, ‘That which does not kill us, makes us stronger’, but given that Duncan Watmore recently received a first-class honours degree from Newcastle University, he probably already knew that.

Nietzsche, who lived at the end of the 19th Century, was an expert in nihilism, a philosophical doctrine that argues that existence is futile. With such ingrained pessimism, he would have made an ideal Sunderland fan.

For much of this season, it felt like there was little to believe in when it came to following the Black Cats, but as the campaign has worn on, so performances have improved and the mood has changed.

From a position where relegation looked inevitable at the turn of the year, Sam Allardyce has engineered an improvement that has carried Sunderland to safety with a game to spare.

There have been scares and difficulties along the way, but when they sign off the season at Watford tomorrow, Sunderland’s players can reflect on a job well done.

They can also bank the experience gained from the trials and tribulations of the last nine months. Some have come through similar experiences before, but for the likes of Watmore, who only made his Premier League debut last August, successfully surviving a relegation battle is a valuable addition to the CV.

“Everything in football’s an experience that can make you a better player and you can learn from it,” said Watmore, who is one of the players expected to be handed a start in tomorrow’s season finale at Vicarage Road. “This kind of experience can only help me.

“There’s a lot of experience of having been in the relegation zone, and it can only help me. You’ve got to learn how to deal with that, and hopefully as a team we can grow from this.

“The experience we’ve got in the group is vast. We’ve got a lot of leaders so, for someone like me, it was good to learn off that. They’re always trying to help you, always giving you advice and trying to make you a better player. It really did help us.”

That said, however, the experience of previous relegation battles did not prevent the core members of the Sunderland squad having to go through yet another protracted scrap at the foot of the table.

Paolo Di Canio, Gus Poyet and Dick Advocaat all engineered ‘Great Escapes’ during their time at the Stadium of Light, and Sam Allardyce is merely the latest manager to have seen his side scramble to safety in the final weeks of the campaign.

The key challenge now is to prevent the same thing from happening next season, and while past experience counsels against being too optimistic, Allardyce’s extensive experience should be a key factor helping Sunderland progress next term.

With Ellis Short ready to invest a significant portion of the new £100m television deal, and Allardyce boasting a proven track record of successfully mining the transfer market, the Black Cats are well positioned to kick on.

“It’s (battling against relegation) become a bit too regular in the past few years and we need to sort that out,” said Watmore. “But ever since the manager’s come in, performances have picked up and we’ve started to show that with results, which is nice.

“I’m absolutely thrilled that we’ve got ourselves out of it. There’s a lot of pressure down there, so it’s a big relief when you get out of it and you’re finally safe.”

There have been a number of key moments in Sunderland’s successful survival campaign, from Allardyce’s arrival last October to the capture of four key signings in the January transfer window.

But when it comes to highlighting the pivotal game from the last nine months, Watmore does not hesitate to select last month’s 3-0 win at Norwich.

It wasn’t just that Sunderland secured a six-point swing on one of their leading relegation rivals when they won at Carrow Road, it was also that their swashbuckling attacking display proved they were capable of handling the pressure of the basement battle. It is hardly a coincidence that they have not lost since.

“That was a really big game,” said Watmore, who scored Sunderland’s third goal against the Canaries. “When it’s a must-win, you don’t like to put that pressure on yourself, but we did. We came out the right side and built on it from there. It was a turning point that gave us the belief, and we’ve done well from there.

“It was nice to contribute to that game because I’d been injured, and you want to contribute a bit more, but as a first season I’ve been delighted with how it’s gone for me personally and the team because we’ve done the job. I’ve really enjoyed breaking into the team, and it’s a great place to be around. I’m really happy.”