Sunderland need wins not excuses, says Januzaj

london — Basement-side Sunderland are out of excuses and must string together a run of wins in April if they are to have any hope of staying in the Premier League, on-loan midfielder Adnan Januzaj has said.

Sunderland have won just once in the league since Christmas and are seven points adrift of safety going into the last 10 games of the season, of which six are in April.

“Six games is a lot in a short space of time,” Januzaj told the Sunderland Echo. “We have to try to win as many games as we can, we can’t make excuses, we have to deliver.”

The 22-year-old Belgium international, who is on a season-long loan from Manchester United, said the difference in mentality between the two clubs had taught him a valuable lesson that might help in the fight for survival.

“We were used to winning games at Manchester United. You have to win,” he added. “You come to Sunderland and they always play for the battle to stay in the league. It is different.

“Mentally you have to be strong because you are losing games and drawing. It is not easy, that is hard but you learn a lot.”

Serial-strugglers Sunderland, who have battled relegation in each of the past four seasons, visit Watford on April 1 when the league resumes after the international break.

What could be encouraging for manager David Moyes’ team is that seven of their remaining fixtures are against teams in the bottom half of the table.

Meanwhile, Hull City striker Abel Hernandez is keen to rediscover his scoring touch to help steer Marco Silva’s side away from the relegation zone in the final stretch of the season.

Hernandez, who suffered a groin injury in November, has scored three league goals this season and will need to find the net more often if Hull are to avoid their second drop from top-flight football in two years.

“It hasn’t been the season I had wanted and injuries have had a big part to play in that,” Hernandez told the club website. — Agencies