The 24-year-old Trinidad and Tobago international helped to lift the Black Cats out of the Barclays Premier League's bottom three, albeit briefly, last weekend with a double in the 4-0 rout of West Bromwich Albion.

Jones said: "The thing is, from eighth place to last place in the league, it is so tight, so I don't think any teams in those positions will be thinking it is going to be a relegation battle.

"It's just like the Championship, or League One or League Two, where I have been for years, you have a couple of wins and you are right up the table; you have a couple of losses, and you are back down.

"That's what's happening this year. All we need to do is just maintain that progression.

"One win gets you so far. We are not really going to worry about relegation until it has separated, and at the moment, it has not.

Victory over the Baggies, and perhaps more importantly, the manner in which it was achieved, sent spirits soaring on Wearside as the post-Roy Keane era took a further turn for the better.

However, Jones and his team-mates head for surprise package Hull City on Saturday knowing they need to build upon that foundation if they are to drag themselves clear of the developing scrap at the foot of the table.

While West Brom and Blackburn Rovers, who appointed Sam Allardyce as manager on Wednesday, are in danger of being cut adrift, just five points separate Sunderland in 18th place from Portsmouth in eighth, and Jones knows just how important a consistent run of results could be.

He added: "There are a lot of big teams down there and you don't know what is going to happen. Every game from now until the table irons itself out and there is some space in between the relegation zone and mid-table, we need to be on that type of form and winning games until that time comes."