JERMAIN DEFOE has paid tribute to the work Victor Anichebe has put in to give Sunderland’s fight to stay in the Premier League a real boost.

Anichebe has put himself in to international reckoning with his performances for the Black Cats over the last month, with Nigeria ready to hand him a recall if his form continues.

While Defoe does not think he can force himself back onto the England stage even if he won ‘the Golden Boot’, he does think his new strike partner has given his own game an extra edge too.

Defoe was banging in the goals before Anichebe arrived as a free agent in September, but the former Everton man’s presence in the final third has taken some of the pressure off his prolific team-mate – and how he deserves huge credit.

Defoe said: “When you are up there with someone else, taking more of the physical side of it, and Victor pins defenders, he rolls people and gets his shots off, it helps.

“Victor is aggressive and good in the air. We are keeping the ball better and it has given me more time to think about my movement.

“When the ball goes up to Victor I can think about my next move. It has helped me. When Victor came in he had missed pre-season, hadn’t played much and some days he had to do three sessions to get his fitness right. He has got the rewards. He has been amazing and has helped in a big way.”

Since Anichebe was introduced to the Premier League starting line-up, Sunderland have won three of their four matches. Even the defeat saw him turn in a hard-working display against Liverpool on November 26.

That sequence of results has given Sunderland a real lift in the battle to beat the drop after climbing up to within a point of safety ahead of this weekend’s long trek to bottom club Swansea City.

And, speaking to TalkSport, Defoe has been encouraged by the improvements and has revealed how manager David Moyes has always retained a calmness around his players that better results would come.

Defoe said: “When a new manager comes in, people have opinions, and the manager is experienced so he had his own. He has been in the game a long time.

“But he was always relaxed. We didn’t have the best start, but he was always relaxed and his methods didn’t change. Every day in training we have been looking to keep the ball better. Week by week we were improving.

“At the weekend (against Leicester) I think in terms of possession and creating chances it was probably the best game we have played and that is because of the training we are doing.”

Defoe has been integral to the Moyes plan, just as he was when he spearheaded a survival charge under Sam Allardyce,

Only Diego Costa, Alexis Sanchez and Sergio Aguero have scored more than Defoe’s eight this season, while Aguero and Harry Kane are the only players to have scored more in 2016.

“I feel good. It is the sharpest I have felt in a long time, I am enjoying training every day,” said Defoe. “I feel confident. For all players, particularly for a striker, when you are scoring goals and you are at that level of fitness, you believe every game you get a chance you will score. I am buzzing for the next game. Every time I play I feel like I am going to score.”

Despite his confidence and form, however, the 34-year-old is not expecting an England recall any time soon after breaking through the 150 barrier in Premier League goals.

Defoe, whose last cap came three years ago against Chile, said: “It’s funny, I never give up. People come up and say ‘why are you not in the England squad?’ I don’t know what to say. Normally it’s based on merit.

“You have a chance of getting in the squad. Have not heard anything. I have not given up. “But I almost feel like it doesn’t matter what I do, even if I get the Golden Boot I still don’t think I’d get called up.

“I just like to let my football do the talking. It was like last season when Dick Advocaat said I couldn’t play up front on my own - and that was a challenge then, I went on to score 15 league goals. I still feel like I can play up front on my own. I just continue to do what I am doing.”