HAD Sunderland come up with performances and results like they have against Hull City this season more regularly then they wouldn’t be heading for the Championship.

The Black Cats wouldn’t be propping up the Premier League. They wouldn’t be facing a summer of uncertainty. And they wouldn’t be left wondering when they will return to the top table of English football again.

Instead Sunderland – who also beat the Tigers 3-0 at the Stadium of Light in November – face all of those things after a second victory over Hull arrived too late to help them in the fight to beat the drop.

David Moyes, the manager whose future is by no means certain until further discussions take place with club owner Ellis Short in a couple of weeks’ time, can rightly take heart from the performance at the KCOM Stadium.

He will be keen to see a repeat of the spirit and energy levels in the final few matches against Swansea, Arsenal and Chelsea. The outcomes of those fixtures may not matter, but Sunderland are in need of every little lift they can conjure in the final weeks of the season.

Hull were not at the standard they have been in previous home games under Marco Silva, who had led the Tigers to an impressive 19 points from 21 on home soil since taking over. He had personally not lost a home game since 2014, stretching back 41 games.

But Sunderland have hardly set the world alight, so to create a number of chances, keep a rare clean sheet and score twice to seal three points is an achievement in itself. Given the situation they find themselves in at the foot of the table, it is a monumental one.

“What we’d spoken about all week is the word ‘pride’ for the team-mates and the club,” said full-back Billy Jones after leaving the pitch. “A lot of neutrals will have been looking at us to see if we had thrown in the towel and if we’d not try to perform to the best of our ability.

“You owe everyone in the league to do that because the games we’ve got coming up are important to the likes of Hull and Swansea. We were happy to put in that performance and it’s nice to get a win. It’s not enjoyable losing games so it was nice to win.”

It is an indication of just how bad Sunderland’s results have been that even after beating Hull, who have dropped into the bottom three, they remain 11 points adrift of safety with three matches remaining.

Despite lacking quality and a shortage of options during a campaign riddled by injuries, the majority of Sunderland’s players could not be accused of downing tools. They have continued to put the effort in on the field but have lacked the extra bit of craft and guile to earn results.

Jones has epitomised that. He has earned the right to become a regular under Moyes and has never given up, even if the former West Brom and Crewe man may not have been one of the biggest signings the club has made.

The 30-year-old scored the first of Sunderland’s goals at Hull with 21 minutes remaining when he dived to nod in George Honeyman’s corner that was flicked on at the near post by John O’Shea.

Even though Jermain Defoe made it two in stoppage-time to give the travelling supporters something extra to shout about, the reality is Sunderland are already a lost cause in the fight to beat the drop in the Premier League.

Jones said: “It’s pretty horrible, to be honest. It’s not nice. It’s depressing and all the words you’d think to use. It’s not a very nice situation.

“From the fans’ point of view, I imagine what they look for in a player playing for their club is commitment first and foremost, and then they look for technical ability and magic in the final third, etc.

“I think even as a player that’s the first thing I expect from my team-mates as well, knowing they’re going to give their all and you can trust that every game. At times this year it’s maybe been lacking and a bit disappointing that we haven’t done that enough.

“That’s the position we’re in. Every player needs to look at themselves and see if they could have done more to avoid this relegation.”

It was honest stuff from Jones and none of his team-mates could argue with him. Sunderland have struggled far too often this season.

Whether it has been conceding too many (one of four sides to have conceded 60 or more) or relying on Defoe too heavily at the other end (only Middlesbrough have scored fewer), this Sunderland squad has not delivered and have looked like Championship material for the vast majority of the campaign.

Yet the supporters have still turned up in huge numbers. At Hull there were still a few thousand out-singing the home fans and none of the chants were negative, unlike recent fixtures when they have turned on Moyes.

Jones said: “To be honest I’ve never under-estimated the fans here and they never stop surprising you. We’ve been relegated and they still sold out the away end. I’m sure they’ll be backing us in the next game and all next year in the Championship.

“We just want to create some good memories, the ultimate one being promoted straight away again. We’re looking at next season now, to take some good momentum into next season into next year, which is going to be a massive year for us.”

Whether Sunderland can bounce straight back will be determined by what happens in the summer. The team that won at Hull is likely to be a lot different to that which begins life in the second tier in August.

It will be hoped Sunderland can keep hold of Jordan Pickford. He is one of the hottest prospects in the Premier League and is destined for an international career, probably a Champions League one too, wherever he ends up.

Pickford – who Moyes said will only be sold for a massive amount of money – enhanced his reputation at the KCOM. After making a strong first half save from Sam Clucas, he made two further outstanding stops after the restart.

The first of those was a one-handed tip over the bar from Lazar Markovic and the second an instinctive near-post stop to turn away Abel Hernandez’s effort for a corner. Those saves ensured Sunderland had the platform to seal the points.

They were secured in stoppage time when Defoe, clearly offside, tapped in Seb Larsson’s quickly taken free-kick from the right to increase the chances of Hull dropping down to the Championship with Sunderland.

Jones said: “I imagine Hull would have looked at us as obviously a tough game because having been relegated we might play with a bit more freedom. When it’s been confirmed that we were relegated maybe we’ve had that bit more (freedom) but we put that pressure on ourselves to perform well.

“I think we showed not just the technical side, passing the ball well, but hard work as well, which maybe people thought we wouldn’t have shown having been relegated. We showed that hard work and fight. The pressure was on Hull at home but they’ve been great at home, really impressive. That shows what a great win it was.”