REPUBLIC of Ireland striker Niall Quinn called on his Sunderland team-mates last night to follow the example of arch-rivals Newcastle United and charge up the Premier League.

The Tynesiders sit on top of the table after five consecutive victories - and Sunderland have started to climb following their six point haul from the two holiday matches.

Victory today would not only give Peter Reid's men their second double of the season it would also set them up nicely for the home game against Aston Villa on New Year's Day.

Quinn recognises the red-hot rivalry between Sunderland and Newcastle supporters, but he believes that the Magpies' recent rise to the top could prove to be an inspiration.

He said: "We've had two good wins over Everton and Blackburn and now we've got to keep it going.

"Just look at Newcastle over the last few weeks and you can see what can happen in the Premiership.

"They have gone from being glad to being in the top half of the table to suddenly being Championship contenders all because of a good run. It is now up to us to follow in their footsteps."

Newcastle's rise to the top puts pressure on Sunderland who, until their two recent victories, were struggling to keep themselves clear of the relegation pack, but Quinn does not feel overshadowed by the success of their neighbours.

He said: "It is probably more difficult for our fans to accept the Newcastle success and I would have thought that before our performance at Blackburn we were under a bit of pressure.

"But now we have shown we can do it is really about us now and how we do ourselves without worrying about them.

"Newcastle's rise to the top is not something that irritates me it is something more for the fans. Fair play to them they have done great.

"Bobby Robson is doing a great job playing it down and rightly so. We've just got to get on with it and see what happens but we are pleased with the good performance we put on at Blackburn."

Quinn, who scored twice in the 3-0 win at Blackburn, knows that Sunderland's away form before the first top-flight victory at Ewood Park for 54 years has been disappointing and it will be important to keep up the momentum at Portman Road.

He said: "The whole club was pleased that we finally put a performance together away from home that we knew we were capable of. It lifts you and and we now go to Ipswich hoping to do the same.

"We have seen both sides of what we can do away from home -at places like Leicester and Southampton we were awful and then we went to Blackburn and played as well as that."

The two goals at Blackburn also gave Quinn a personal boost after a barren spell in which he admits his form has not been as good as he would have liked.

The 35-year-old Dubliner believes that the Republic's World Cup Qualifying games against Iran took their toll and the tough home game against Leeds United, which came soon after, did not help.

He said: "My form probably dipped a bit after that I was on a high up to that point.

"Them I was left out for a few games, I started being brought on as sub without doing too well.

"I just feel that scoring the two goals at Blackburn has lifted me and now I'm looking forward to a third game in a week. I am starting to feel good again I did start to drop a little bit when things caught up with me after the Iran trip and that Leeds game coming so quick but now I think I'm back again."

He added: "The Ipswich game will be three in a week and then the home match against Aston Villa will be four in ten days.

"It's not a problem but the goals do help, especially when you've got the number nine on your back.

"You are judged on goals and you have to try to keep a steady flow going.

"I wasn't worried about when the next goals would come because I hadn't been missing chances we weren't playing well and it wasn't as if we were getting chances galore.

"The way we played at Blackburn makes you think there will be a lot more chances to come."

Quinn expects a tough game at Ipswich.

He said: "They have got themselves back in gear and in my opinion they won't be in trouble come the end of the season.

"They have learnt from last season and they have learnt from Europe and now I think they are ready to re-group and make it very difficult.

"But we have to go there confident after the way we played at Blackburn on Boxing Day."

Quinn knows that Sunderland have fallen away after Christmas in each of the last two seasons, when they just missed out on a place in Europe by finishing seventh.

He said: "We would like to think now that we have got ourselves going this time and will finish strongly this time probably that's the best way to do it.

"I'm not saying it's definitely going to happen but I think we have got the bit between our teeth and we won't settle for anything less than good performances."

"If we can win at Ipswich we then have a home game coming up and suddenly you can feel that Europe might be back on.

"It's amazing because after the defeat at Southampton we were wondering how far we were away from the drop and we were looking over our shoulders.

"This could turn out to be a really good holiday period for us."

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