Sunderland v Hull City: Duncan Watmore fired up to make it two wins in a row

That was the rallying cry from Duncan Watmore on the eve of the crucial basement showdown with Hull City at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland are five points behind the Tigers and six from safety ahead of the meeting of the clubs in 20th and 18th places.

But they could make a major inroad into both deficits as the England Under-21 star admitted.

“We all know that, but the players are ready for it,” said Watmore.

“Those of us who have been away on international duty are back now.

“Hopefully we can get the three points we need.

“It’s a funny league and you can climb the league quite quickly with a few wins.”

Sunderland took 11 games to get their first victory – a come-from-behind 2-1 success at Bournemouth 13 days ago.

But now Watmore says two-in-two will provide a massive shot in the arm in the fight for top-flight survival.

“Momentum is massive in football – you’ve got to use it when you can,” he said.

“We’ve got that and we want to take that into Hull.

“Winning gives you confidence

“We’re not in a good position at all, we know that, but we can rectify that [tomorrow].”

And the Academy graduate said the team are desperate to give Sunderland’s supporters their first home league victory since May.

The club might be propping up the division but they have the sixth highest average attendance in the Premier League – more than 42,000.

Watmore added in an interview with www.safc.com: “The fans are always unbelievable, they always turn out, win, lose or draw.

“We want to give them the wins they deserve.

All of us, players, coaches and staff, are trying to do that and get them another win tomorrow.”

Watmore was one of the shining lights for David Moyes’s side in the dramatic win at Dean Court.

The 22-year-old was vibrant going forward, scoring a ‘goal’ from a Billy Jones cross, only to be denied by the linesman’s offside flag.

But he went on to make his mark with a good run and great ball to release Victor Anichebe, who was brought down for Jermain Defoe’s match-winning penalty.

And Watmore took his own momentum into the international break, when he represented England U21s with aplomb.

The young Three Lions beat Italy at Southampton and. while they were edged out 3-2 in France, Watmore scored a stunning goal to keep his pot boiling.

“It was good to win against Italy in the last minute, but it was disappointing to lose to France.

“We wanted to win both matches – those sides are two of the best teams at Under 21 level.

“But it was nice to score a goal and I enjoyed it.”