Sunderland captain John O'Shea admits the atmosphere has lifted under manager Gus Poyet.
Poyet replaced Paolo di Canio earlier this season.
O'Shea said: "He has been fantastic in terms of preparation, his coaching team is a great group of people and they have really settled in, made the place enjoyable in terms of working hard as always.
"But in terms of the atmosphere it is so positive and I think we are trying, especially on the training pitch, to make sure mistakes that happened early in the season we cut out, especially at set pieces because they are so crucial in the Premier League. If we can improve on that you will definitely see us climbing up the Premier League table.
"Obviously there are different players playing and in terms of tactics it is not that you can't do it but it is about becoming accustomed to playing in a certain way. It does not just happen overnight, it has taken a bit of time and consistency. It is all well and good saying it is going to be seamless but you know it is not, it never is."
