Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce has admitted that his side are in a "very good position" following their 3-2 victory over Chelsea this afternoon.
The Black Cats gave their survival hopes a major boost with a come-from-behind win at the Stadium of Light, climbing out of the bottom three and moving one win away from safety.
Sunderland will have a chance to get that victory when they host Everton on Wednesday, and Allardyce is hopeful that they can secure survival with a game to spare.
"Our destiny is in our own hands. We have turned it around with a big victory. Obviously Newcastle drawing and Norwich losing has put us in a very good position," he told reporters.
"Now we must take full advantage of that position and try to finish it off on Wednesday. But we have still got to be very professional and very driven on Wednesday night to try to make sure that when we finish that game, we are safe.
"Hopefully we will not jangle our nerves any longer than we need to, certainly me, the staff, the fans, everybody concerned. There were so many people biting their nails today in the last few minutes because it was such a tense last few minutes because it was such a big result."
Allardyce also hailed the influence of striker Jermain Defoe, who netted his 15th goal of the season this afternoon.
Barney Corkhill
