Defoe On Fitness Levels.

Striker Jermain Defoe says that under the old rule of Dick Advocaat, the team were not fit enough to compete in a fight for Premier League survival.

Advocaat was in charge at the end of last season when his side escaped the drop into the Championship, but he didn’t last very long from the start of this season and left with just three points on the board.

And now that the season is drawing to an end, Sunderland are still in the relegation zone, but Defoe feels that the side are very much fitter and more able to cope with concentrating on staying up.

Speaking to the Journal, Defoe said: ‘It’s happened because of the start of the season. We just weren’t good enough and we weren’t fit enough.

‘If you look at the fitness stats now — the running stats and the high intensity stats, that side of it — we were so far off, so far off where we are now. Look at the [opening day] game against Leicester — we were blown away. It was difficult.

‘Now it’s like a different team. The first thing the manager [Allardyce] said when he came in, we had a meeting and he said, ‘You’re not fit enough.’ He said, ‘I’ll get you fit and that’s all you need’ because we’ve got top players and internationals.

‘But if you can’t run, how are you meant to perform for 95 minutes?’

Sunderland continue their battle to stay up when they take on Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.