Steve Bruce has pointed to the complacency that almost saw Sunderland relegated last season as a warning to the current squad.

Last year, the Black Cats narrowly avoided relegation on the last day of the season under the guidance of Ricky Sbragia as both Newcastle and Middlesbrough failed to win.

Now managed by Bruce, Sunderland are in a similar position as they were this time last season, with 34 points on the board and just eight games remaining.

Despite a host of fresh faces in the squad last summer, Bruce has reminded his crop of the difficulty the club got themselves in last term after taking their foot off the gas.

"This club is steeped in, we don't do things easy is one thing I've learned," Bruce told Sky Sports News.

"Look at last year, everyone was patting themselves on the back when I think they got to 33 or 34 points, and then picked up one point in the last eight and only just managed to escape because others got beat.

"So, we're not going to take anything for granted," he reiterated.
Fixtures

Bruce's concern is aided by the club's tough run-in: "We've got eight games to play. We couldn't have wished for it to be any more difficult than Aston Villa, followed by Liverpool, then Tottenham.

"Great games to be involved in, but very, very difficult," added the former Wigan and Birmingham boss.

Sunderland travel to Villa Park on Wednesday night and Bruce has highlighted the fine job counterpart Martin O'Neill has done at the club since taking over in August 2006 and is inspired by his success.

Bruce said: "When I first went in at Birmingham we had a chance of overtaking them, we had beaten them four times and drawn with them twice since we had gone into the Premier League.

"But under Martin, with some good investment from the owner and some shrewd management, they have gone from being in the bottom half of the table - which they were for two, three, four years - all of a sudden now to competing in cup finals, semi-finals, competing for the Champions League.

"They have had a magnificent two or three years under Martin and if there are any parallels to be drawn, that's the example I would love to take."