Sunderland captain Dean Whitehead is confident they have too much class to suffer relegation this season.

"When you look back at previous seasons, one of the teams fighting relegation nearly always seems to have a strong second-half to the season and pull clear of danger," Whitehead told the Sunday Sun.

"And one team from lower mid-table often sinks like a stone and ends up struggling.

"The most important thing for us is to make sure that we are the team that emerges from the pack and starts climbing away from the bottom three.

"If we can get some momentum behind us and string two or three results together, we can put some distance between ourselves and the relegation zone."