Sunderland head for Portsmouth on Saturday anxious to secure their first Premier League away win of season at the 14th attempt.The Black Cats have given themselves a genuine chance of securing their top-flight status in recent weeks with an excellent run of form at the Stadium of Light, where they have won five of their last seven games.

However, they have taken only two of the 39 points they have contested on the road to date - and that is a situation they know needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

A trip to meet Harry Redknapp's European contenders at Fratton Park may not be the most favourable fixture in which to do that, but defender Danny Collins feels the time is ripe for a win on the road.

He said: "A lot of people have been saying the home form is what is going to keep us up, and we cannot really argue with that - because we have only picked two points up away from home.

"I hope we can turn that around. We have got the teams around us still to go to away from home.

"Maybe we can go there and pick up the odd victory.

"The home form has been good of late - that's three clean sheets on the trot (at home) - and that can pull us through."

Sunderland's only successes away from home this season have come at Birmingham and Middlesbrough, where they struck late to secure 2-2 draws.

But those games were in August and September respectively, and they have lost each of the nine games they have played since the short trip to the Riverside Stadium.

However, their home form has helped to carry them to 14th place in the table - four points clear of the drop zone - with successive 2-0 wins over Pompey, Birmingham and Wigan illustrating a threat in attack and a greater resilience at the back.

That has come as a great boost to £9million goalkeeper Craig Gordon and his defenders, who had come in for their fair share of criticism earlier in the season.

The 25-year-old Scotland international, in particular, found himself a target for disgruntled fans after a series of unconvincing displays.

However, he has since regained both his form and his confidence - and his efforts have been fully appreciated by the supporters and his team-mates alike.

Collins said: "He is a quality goalkeeper - we would not have paid that much money for him if he wasn't.

"He is the last line of defence, so from time to time he is going to perhaps make the odd mistake - like we all do.

"But he has been called upon on one or two occasions recently and he has pulled us through."

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