Monday night's hard-fought 3-1 win at Crystal Palace moved Poyet's men two points clear of the relegation zone and victory over Everton on Sunday could propel them into the top 10, such is the congestion in mid-table.

But then come back-to-back Stadium of Light clashes against Chelsea and Manchester City, and Poyet believes by Christmas he will have a good idea if the new year will bring another relegation scrap, or if he can aim higher.

Poyet said: "I think it will depend on the next three or four games. It can set up a different situation where we are really pushing for something this year, or do you want to suffer all the time at the bottom?

"It's very tight, there's a very small margin for error and you need to make sure you are not on the wrong side of those decisions. That's what we've been working on, how to make sure we are not making so many mistakes."

Poyet is not reading too much into the win at Crystal Palace, and has not allowed his squad to believe the tough times are over, just two weeks after an 8-0 mauling at Southampton.

"It's obviously been a totally different week, but the most important thing is to control emotions," he said.

"You're not that bad if you lose and you're not that good if you win one game. It's about maintaining balance and knowing what we need to do every week."

Sunderland will once again be banking on Steven Fletcher, whose two-goal performance against the Eagles suggested he is set to return to the kind of consistent form he showed when Poyet first arrived at the club a year ago.

"Fletch has been great over the last four or five weeks and something is clicking for him physically and mentally," added Poyet.

"I remember when I first came here he was so good in training it was impossible to leave him out. He looks so happy and sharp and the sooner he gets to double figures the better for the team."