AS a veteran of last season’s ‘Great Escape’, Seb Larsson knows all about the anger and frustration that goes hand-in-hand with battling against relegation in the final month of the season.

Last year, Sunderland’s players dug themselves into a seemingly inescapable hole before mounting a remarkable survival push in the final five games, and once the dust had settled on the most incredible comeback in Premier League history, the remaining members of the squad vowed they would never leave themselves in such a messy situation again.

Twelve months on, however, and they are back in the bottom three with five games remaining. History is repeating itself, and if anything, Sunderland’s struggles are even harder to excuse this time around.

Last term, there was the chaotic collapse of the Paolo Di Canio regime to contend with, not to mention the considerable distraction of a Capital One Cup final appearance at Wembley.

This season, there has been no such mitigation, and while he remains confident Sunderland will claw their way to safety in the next four weeks, Larsson admits the ongoing struggles are even harder to stomach than last year’s failings.

“It’s probably even more frustrating that we’ve really just slid into this,” said the Swedish midfielder, who will return from a two-game ban when Sunderland host Southampton tomorrow. “We’ve had enough chances to pull ourselves away from it, but it just hasn’t happened.

“I can remember sitting talking about it on numerous occasions, but it’s got to the stage now where we really have to correct it in order to have any chance of remaining in the Premier League next year.

“There’s still chance to turn it around, but it has been one of those seasons where we’ve had a lot of opportunities to pull ourselves away and haven’t.

“We haven’t had a run yet. Let’s be honest, we haven’t had anything like a decent run. So surely at some stage during the season we’re going to have a run, and if we could have it now, that would be great.”

Larsson is one of eight members of the current Sunderland squad who started the 2-2 draw at Manchester City that kick-started last season’s ‘Great Escape’.

The likes of John O’Shea, Santiago Vergini, Lee Cattermole, Adam Johnson and Connor Wickham were also involved at the Etihad, and while there is a frustration that the Black Cats find themselves in the same situation again, there is also a knowledge that the squad boasts plenty of players who know how to get out of such a tricky position.

A relegation battle can do strange things to players – sometimes inspiring, occasionally forcing them to retreat into their shell. For Larsson, though, the key is to keep things on an even keel.

“Towards the last few weeks of a season like this, when you’re involved in a relegation battle, emotions go up and down,” he said. “Especially the first time you’re involved in something like this, the first day you feel great and then the next day you might feel very low.

“That’s when the experience has to come in, and those of us who have been through this before and been involved in the game for quite a while have to make sure we keep our emotions in check.

“We have to realise it’s up to ourselves to make sure we sort this out. You can go very up and down – very positive one day and then thinking it looks difficult the next. It’s about finding that path in the middle and making sure we stay focused on the right things.”

That means concentrating on tomorrow’s home game with Southampton, and ignoring conversations about what might or might not happen in the matches involving the rest of the sides involved in the battle at the foot of the table.

With five games remaining, there is every chance the Black Cats will have to claim at least two victories in order to survive.

Given that their final two matches are at Arsenal and Chelsea, that clearly places considerable pressure on the next three games, but given that they have only claimed five league victories all season, Larsson admits it is pointless to start speculating about events beyond this weekend.

The simple fact is that, having slipped into the bottom three last weekend, Sunderland desperately need to beat Southampton.

“We’ve dropped into the bottom three for pretty much the first time all season, and we have to use that in a positive way,” said Larsson. “I know that might sound daft – how can you use that in a positive way – but for me, I think you can turn it around and take something from it.

“Hopefully, by not having so much to lose, we might perform better. I certainly hope that’s the case. But it almost seems pointless talking about what we might have to do.

“We’ve been through nearly the whole season now, and so far we haven’t done enough. We just have to go out and win games now. We have to do everything we can to get the three points on Saturday and then go from there.”