Sunderland's legions of loyal fans should be all the motivation the players need to ensure they avoid the drop, according to Vito Mannone.
The Italian secured the Supporters' Association Player of the Year award this week, but knows it is Premier League survival which is the real prize worth having from a campaign which has defied any semblance of logic and sense.
He told the Sunderland Echo:
I hope we can stay up because from where we were, we deserve it, even if we have made some mistakes in games.
This club deserves it.
You see the fans going everywhere and they've been brilliant.
Whether or not the players deserve it remains to be seen. If they prove they are better than three other teams after the 38th game, they have deserved to remain Premier League players and no one can deny it.
But he's right in what he says about the fans deserving it, especially those who travel away from home. It's an easy comment for him to make, but he's still right. The fans deserve far greater reward than mere survival, but beggars can't be choosers.
Hopefully this weekend against Cardiff City, the biggest Sunderland game in a very long time, the fans can prove just how much they deserve to stay in the Premier League. Get yourselves there!