As two of his former clubs meet today at the Stadium of Light, Nicky Summerbee hopes this campaign does not end in regret for Manchester City and Sunderland. While a City victory would keep them on course for fourth place, three points for the hosts would move them clear of the relegation zone. They are six points ahead of the bottom three. Summerbee was in the City side that lost their Premier League status in 1996, but then helped Sunderland back into the top flight in 1999.
He said: "Both clubs have every-thing set up for them now to do better than they have for a long, long time. I definitely think Sunderland are too good to go down, but I've been in that situation and it's all about confidence. "People can get tense, make mistakes and go missing, but with [the chairman] Niall Quinn and [manager] Steve Bruce, pictured right, they have got two people who will make sure they get out of trouble. They are fighters. If City can finish fourth, it will give them that push to achieve even more with the backing of Sheikh Mansour. It's all about believing and having a winning mentality. Manchester United have done it for years and it's why they are always up there.
"I don't think there will be a better chance to break into the top four than this." Summerbee said their belief should have increased by the 4-2 win at Chelsea in their last game that was inspired by Craig Bellamy and Carlos Tevez. He added: "With players like those two, I see City capable of beating anyone. They are a force when they are attacking and it's a strength they should use more. "You don't want to look back in a couple of months and have regrets and say, 'we should have done this or that'. You have to do it now." akhan@thenational.ae