Jermain Defoe paid tribute to the red and white army following Sunderland’s 2-0 triumph over Hull City.
The Black Cats’ fate is confirmed but heading to the KCOM Stadium they still had a key role to play in the battle for survival, with the Tigers’ hopes of retaining Premier League football taking a bitter blow as Billy Jones and Defoe struck on Humberside.
Next up, Swansea City head to the Stadium of Light after leapfrogging Marco Silva’s side with a 1-0 win over Everton in Saturday’s late kick-off.
And speaking to safc.com, the England international admitted it was good to give something back to the 2,500-strong support who have backed the Black Cats on the road throughout the campaign.
“I think that [giving the supporters something to smile about] was the main thing,” said Defoe.
“It was a difficult situation coming into the game but I felt the main thing was giving something back to the fans and we managed to do that, and it’s always nice to win football matches.”
He continued: “I’ve said from day one how important the fans are to this football club and how special they are.
“They’re amazing; we’ve been relegated but they still turn up and travel in great numbers, so we’re lucky to have fans like this so it was important we put in a performance.
“We played well and we stuck together and it’s never easy as players because you don’t know how the fans are going to react, but they were brilliant and credit to them.
“We’ll look forward to the next game.”
