Dean Whitehead says keeping Sunderland up this season would be the biggest achievement of his career.

"It was a great achievement winning the title last season, especially after the start we had, but staying in the Premier League would beat that," said the midfielder.

"Things have been up a down since I came here. I'm proud of the two promotions and winning the Championship twice.

"They were the high points so far, but I want to be a Premier League player for a few years and this club needs to be a Premier League club so staying up and giving ourselves something to build on would be the biggest achievement so far."