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A final-day win of the season would likely see Sunderland finish in 12th position this season, that it would be a false position according to Lee Cattermole.
The midfielder isn't really known for compromise on the football pitch and he is apparently pretty brutal off the field too with an assessment of Sunderland's position that pulls no punches.
He told the Sunderland Echo:
I think finishing 12th would be a bit of a false position really.
From where we've been, I wouldn't say 12th is where we should be finishing.
We need to be realistic and realise how close we've come (to relegation) and what we've done to be in the position we're in.
I would have taken a point from the last two games and finished 17th.
We've got to look to improve and start next season how we've finished this season," added the 26-year-old.
It's nice when things are going well because people look for all the good points.
But there's been a lot of bad times when things haven't gone well and we've played well in games, but haven't got that goal.
I kind of half agree with Cattermole here. I think it is hugely important that we don't get too caught up in the swell of positivity right now and allow ourselves to judge the current squad too kindly. That is not the way forward at all.
However, I think that after everyone has played 38 games, there are no false positions. You finish where you deserve to finish. If Sunderland finish with more points than eight other sides when everyone has played each other twice, then they deserve to finish 12th.
How you do it and when you get the points on the board is ultimately unimportant.
In this league, one very good run of form at some point in the season will see you safe. West Ham have been poor, but got one great run. Newcastle have been poor but got one great run. It's not the only way, of course. The likes of Swansea, Hull and Aston Villa have just avoided a seriously bad run and have been okay.
You also have to consider that, under Gus Poyet, a midtable team is precisely what Sunderland have been. If the Premier League started the day the Uruguayan was appointed, the points haul from 37 points in 30 games would see Sunderland sitting in, yes, 12th position.
I'd suggest the fact that Sunderland could still finish in 12th is a reflection of how desperately poor the bottom half of the Premier League is in general rather than anything Sunderland specific.
