Matthew Upson is delighted West Ham United have "stopped the rot" and are feeling positive for final five fixtures ahead.
The 2-2 draw at Everton at the weekend has given the squad the perfect platform for this Sunday's visit of Sunderland. "There are not many hours of football left. It is down to us to get ourselves ready," he said. "We are fully aware of the situation, what is needed from us and will put everything together to do what we have to do."
"We are good enough. We will build on this as I said, go again this week, build up a good strategy for the next game ahead and then go out there as a team together to commit to it. Then, if we deliver the performance this can bring, then I am confident we can win the game against Sunderland."
Although the club are in the driving seat and have their fate in their own hands, Upson said there was no point taking comfort from the league table. "It is very important obviously, but at this stage, it is neither here or there. The most important thing is where we are come 9 May. We know there is plenty of work still left to do."
Looking back on Sunday's performance when Manuel da Costa and Ilan scored for his side, Upson was most pleased to see a six-match losing run halted. "It is good to have broken that cycle, it was a poor one for us to have, something not nice to go through, so it was great to get a point and stop the rot.
"Goodison Park has been a difficult place to come for teams and take something away with them. So, on that front, we have to be pleased to be coming away with a point and we can build on that and take that into our next game now."
Upson has spoken of his belief in a "real desire" for all at West Ham to beat the drop and said that was reflected in recent training sessions "We have had a really good week to be honest, we have got together as a group, worked hard on the training pitch, on things that didn't work before and tactically.
"Our shape was a lot better and even though we didn't have much possession in the first half, I thought we were proving to be difficult to break down. You have to be like that in the Premier League, especially with the position we are in."