Danny Collins believes Sunderland should emulate Fulham next season and break into the top half of the Premier League table. Welsh defender Collins insists it is now time for Sunderland to start producing on the field and has called on his team-mates to accept nothing less than a top ten finish from the 2009/10 campaign.

"Top half - I don't see anything below top half as good enough," he said.

"Looking at Fulham last season, they finished seventh and I didn't really feel they, when we played them over the two games, were any better than us.

"But they perhaps worked together better as a team, and that is the sort of benchmark we have got to be looking at for next season."