Sunderland boss Roy Keane hopes this week's trip to Spain will help the Black Cats leap to Premier League safety.The players jetted out for the well-earned trip on Sunday following back-to-back victories over Aston Villa and West Ham in the league which has boosted their survival hopes.

But far from being a holiday, Keane believes training in a change of scenery and good weather will spur his players on when they return to wet Wearside on Wednesday.

He told the Sunderland Echo: "Some people mentioned golf clubs to me but the fact is it's a training camp.

"It's not as if there's a week to go until the end of the season and we are going for a knees-up.

"We will be training in a proper footballing set-up."

He added: "Essentially, it's just a change of scenery. I know weather conditions have not been great, but our training pitches just seem to take the brunt of it.

"It will be nice for the lads to get out into a decent environment, like we've done before. I think last season we went to Portugal and that worked well in terms of the shape and state of mind we came back in.

"A change of scenery is always good. Sometimes it is difficult to work on certain things on the training pitch because of the weather conditions.

"It will be nice to have better conditions, to get a break from things, to recharge the batteries and also to get the players away together - and the staff as well, because they deserve a break, too."

Keane is in bullish mood as injured players have come back at just the right time for the Premier League run-in.

He said: "The biggest plus from my point of view is that I've now had a full squad to pick from in the last couple of weeks.

"It's no coincidence that I've had 20-21 players to choose from in training and that the team's performance has improved at the same time.

"We've got real competition for places and that's not only driving players on but it's also ensuring the bench is a stronger one too."

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