DICK ADVOCAAT claims Sunderland’s chances of avoiding the drop have increased after neighbours Newcastle United were dragged into the heart of the relegation battle.

Despite claiming only their second win in the last 12 games when they beat Southampton at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, the Black Cats still find themselves in the bottom three with three weeks of the season to go.

However, they are within a point of Leicester and Hull, and just two points adrift of Aston Villa and Newcastle after the weekend results saw the fight to avoid relegation to the Championship really hot up.

Suddenly, Sunderland will be heading into their next two games against Everton and Leicester with some momentum behind them, while Newcastle, on the back of eight successive defeats, continue to hurtle headlong towards the relegation zone.

The contrast in mood between the North-East rivals could prove crucial, with Advocaat admitting Newcastle are now one of the sides firmly in Sunderland’s sights as they attempt to haul themselves to safety in their final four games.

“It’s definitely important to keep pressure on the other teams,” said the Sunderland head coach. “Burnley lost (on Saturday) and Queens Park Rangers lost, and we have made a difference between them and us.

“We have also got closer to the teams above us, and now maybe also Newcastle with 35 points and difficult games to come. They also have to play a team below us (QPR), so I think it will go on until the end.”

Having seen off Southampton on home soil at the weekend, Sunderland’s schedule is set to get significantly tougher as the season reaches a climax.

Three of the club’s final four matches are away from home, with Saturday’s trip to Goodison Park pitting the Wearsiders against an Everton side who have won their last six home games in all competitions.

The following weekend’s home game with Leicester looks potentially decisive, before Sunderland finish the season with a daunting double-header that will see them travel to Arsenal and Chelsea in the space of five days.

Last season’s ‘Great Escape’ proved that strange things can happen in the final throes of a relegation fight though, and having made a major contribution to Saturday’s success as he returned to the starting line-up for the first time in four matches, Danny Graham is confident he and his team-mates can turn the form book on its head once again.

“We have been in this situation before,” said Graham. “We have been to big teams and picked up big results, so we need to hang on to that belief. We need to believe we can go to these places and win.

“It hurt badly after the (Crystal) Palace game, with all the criticism as well, but it’s funny how it can change quickly. (Saturday’s) game was the opposite to the Villa and Palace games because we really rolled up our sleeves after we conceded. We got back on the front foot, and we are good enough to get out of this.”