BEARING in mind that Sunderland are aiming to defeat Chelsea for a third time in a row this afternoon, Steven Fletcher was unfortunate to miss out on both of the previous wins over Jose Mourinho’s men.

Such were the problems Fletcher had with injury and fitness throughout last season, the Scotland international was not even among the substitutes for the Capital One Cup win in December or the heroic victory at Stamford Bridge in April.

Success stories like those helped create occasional highs during a pretty forgettable season in the Premier League and Fletcher is just relieved to be heading in to the latest meeting with Chelsea in a different place mentally and physically.

“Anything better than last year’s season is a good season for us really,” said Fletcher, well aware that Sunderland looked destined for the Championship with just five matches remaining of that campaign.

“Obviously, last year - and I watched it as a fan - wasn’t nice to watch, how close we were to going down. So if we can be safe a little bit sooner than last year, we’ll be happy.”

When Sunderland left Stamford Bridge in April with three points and a priceless boost of confidence, the players then had the result and performance to base their survival fight on.

Having already earned a point at Manchester City in the game beforehand, the Black Cats went on to win three more games in a row against Cardiff, Manchester United and West Brom. Suddenly Sunderland were safe and plans could start for this season - and Fletcher is happy to be in the thick of things again.

“Mid-table would be ideal this season for us, given how competitive the league is this year,” said the 27-year-old, who has four goals to his name this season. “A mid-table finish and everyone would be happy. The fans would be, we would be. Just to kind of set a level of where we’re at, and then we can build from that, instead of hanging on.

“I have been through relegations before (with Wolves and Burnley) and I was lucky that I had a good season the year we were relegated, and someone came in and bought me. The feeling after the last game of the season when you know you’re down is not nice at all, not knowing what’s going to happen. So I don’t want that to happen again.”

Sunderland have recovered well from the 8-0 drubbing at Southampton in early October to climb up to 14th after collecting five points from the last available nine. With Manchester City and Liverpool next on the agenda after today’s meeting with Chelsea, though, a failure to pick up points in those could see them drop back in to the relegation zone.

And after Chelsea’s incredible 5-0 win at Schalke in the Champions League on Tuesday night, the form of Mourinho’s team does beg the question how can the unbeaten Premier League leaders be stopped?

“I don’t really know,” said Fletcher. “I watched the highlights of that and five goals is a joke over there. But it’s going to be good for us to go up against a team like that. It’s going to be a hard game. We know that, we’re not stupid. We’ve got a bit of confidence at the moment though.

“Considering they were away in Germany, producing a performance like that, they’re up there. They’re up there with the best in the world. They have to be with the results they’re coming out with. We did beat them last year, didn’t we, and the year before I was here we did too. It’s going to be a good game.”

If Sunderland are going to stop the Blue machine and defeat them again then Fletcher will need to be at his very best as the lone striker, where he will be faced with John Terry. Over the years the former England defender has had his critics, but his form has been as good as ever in the last 18 months.

Fletcher said: “He’s hard to play against, really hard to play against. For some reason you think he’s slower than he actually is. He’s a big boy, but he can move. He’s strong in the air as well, and that’s a big part of my game so when you’ve got someone who’s just as strong in the air, it seems like he’s on top of you.

“He’s sound on the pitch. I always talk to players, and he’s good. He’s not someone who gives you sly digs. These are the games you want to play in, coming up against (Gary) Cahill at centre-half and Terry. It’s a good challenge for myself.”