Sunderland boss Roy Keane wants to finish as high as possible in the Premiership to boost his summer market plans.

"It's so important if we are going to attract players this summer," said Keane, who invested £44million in new players since promotion from the Championship last year.

"It was always going to be tough last summer because when we were trying to sign players they were always going to look at Sunderland and see Sunderland very much as a yo-yo club.

"That's something I got my head around, I understood that 100 per cent.

"Obviously, the more we can stay in the Premier League and try to get stronger, the better for the club as a whole for the future.

"We can still have an impact between now and the end of the season, and I still believe come the end of the season will be the time to judge the team.

"I think we have contributed decently to the Premier League, but we hope even more so between now and the end of the season."