Gus Poyet insists Sunderland will not need to reach the traditional 40-point safety benchmark to survive.
The Black Cats went into the weekend four points from safety and could find themselves even further adrift by the time they head to Spurs on Monday.
Sunderland’s situation is dire, but Poyet is refusing to give up hope and says his side could retain their Premier League status with as few as 35 points – or three wins and a draw from the last eight games.
He said: “There is no chance you will need 40, it will be much less.
“Why? The three teams who go down might not even make 34.
“That does not mean we will be safe with 35 points.
“However, they (Sunderland’s relegation rivals) might not get the points to go past us if we can get there.
“I always thought it would need four wins to stay up.
“Nobody can see any of the bottom four or five winning three more games now.
“Maybe three wins and a draw? It depends on who those wins are against.”
Poyet clearly means Sunderland must pick up points against the sides around them in the table – something they have failed to do for much of the season.
They still have home games against strugglers Cardiff, West Brom and Swansea to come.