Sunderland striker Steven Fletcher feels that the team can build on their recent impressive form over the Christmas period.

The Black Cats have improved of late, winning two of their last three Premier League encounters to move clear of the relegation zone.

Manchester City, Tottenham and Liverpool are the North East club’s next three opponents, and Fletcher believes that the squad can enter the tricky run full of confidence:

“We approach them with a bit of confidence,” He is quoted by the Daily Mail.

“We know we've got a hard Christmas period coming up but we've built a bit of confidence and we'll take that into the next game.

“The boys are all very tight. We all get on very well. It is a good bunch of lads.

“If we keep our heads down and keep working hard, we'll get results”

Fletcher scored the only goal during Sunderland’s victory over Southampton on Saturday, and was happy with the team’s all-round display:

“We're all professional boys, we all know what is needed when we need to go and win game.

“I thought it was a good performance. We attacked well and defended well so you're always going to win games when you play like that.

“Sometimes it is not pretty and we ground it out. We needed the three points and we got that.

“We're just happy we got three points and a good performance as well.”