Steven Fletcher has said that Sunderland's late revival against Cardiff City was down to Gus Poyet's half-time team talk.
The Black Cats trailed by Jordon Mutch's goal after 45 minutes in the Welsh capital and fell further behind when Fraizer Campbell scored with just over half an hour left to play.
Fletcher ended his 11-game drought to restore hope with seven minutes remaining, and the comeback was complete when Jack Colback finished from inside a crowded penalty area in the fifth minute of injury time.
"At half-time the gaffer told us to go out and put in a performance like it was the last game of the season," BBC Sport quotes the Scotland international as saying.
"We wanted a point and we got it. The gaffer said 'go out and show the fans that we want to stay in this league' and we did exactly that."
The Mackems remain bottom of the Premier League, although they are just two points from safety.
Michael Penkman
