UNITED States captain Claudio Reyna, two-goal man-of-the-match in Sunderland's crucial 2-1 home win over Leicester City, is backing ace striker Kevin Phillips to end a seven-game drought in the quest for Premiership safety.

Reyna, who answered the call from manager Peter Reid for goals from midfield, believes that Phillips, who has not scored since the 4-1 defeat at Old Trafford at the beginning of last month, can get back to his old free-scoring ways in the last five matches of the season.

He said: "Teams near the top of the table get goals from all over the field - Jason McAteer has hit a couple of goals in the previous two home games and I'm just happy I have been able to help out as well.

"It is a big relief when all the pressure does not solely fall on Kevin Phillips or Niall Quinn and it is better for the team when goals are coming from different parts of the field.

"The manager does not need to tell you that - as a central midfielder you have got to get involved in creating chances for yourself."

He added: "Kevin gets his chances in every game - against a tight defence like Arsenal he still had four or five opportunities and that speaks enough about his quality as a player.

"He is just going through a spell where he is unlucky - goalkeepers are making some great saves and he is just missing some chances.

"But his work-rate is still there and he is getting his chances even though he is a bit tired from a long season - so many demands have fallen on him.

"Even though he is not scoring goals he is continuing to work hard for the team and he is so valuable to us.

"The great thing is you can't imagine him not scoring goals from now until the end of the season - in a way it was good to win against Leicester when he didn't score because I think there are definitely goals to come from him between now and the end of the season."

Reyna came within a whisker of grabbing a hat-trick when his right-foot shot beat former England goalkeeper Ian Walker and grazed the outside of the post.

He said: "A third goal would have been nice. I was a bit confident and I just had a go at it.

"But the ball bent away from goal towards the end and clipped the outside of the post.

"It would have been great to have scored a hat-trick - the last time I did that I was only ten or 11 years old.

"To have scored three goals in a Premiership match would have been something else, especially in one half.

"But I am just happy that we won and that I scored two goals - it would not have meant anything if we'd lost or drawn the game."

However, Reyna did not expect to be involved in a relegation battle when he left Glasgow Rangers in a £4.5m move in December, but he is delighted to be playing in the top flight.

He admitted: "I would rather be in a better situation, but it is the reality of playing in a great league like the Premiership.

"A lot of teams, not just ourselves, have been sucked into this and there are a lot of teams that are under pressure.

"Against Leicester we responded well and put in a good team performance, but there is a fine line from being comfortably in the middle of the table and being in the bottom six or seven.

"We just have to keep going and that's just part of playing in a great league. Week in and week out you have to deal with different pressures, whether it is going for the Championship or going for Europe or staying away from a relegation battle.

"It's what's to be expected from playing in a league like the Premiership."

Reyna, who has been troubled by hamstring problems, hopes he can steer clear of injuries between now and this summer's World Cup Finals in Japan and South Korea.

He explained: "Against Leicester my legs felt good and the important thing now is staying clear of injuries.

"I don't think my hamstring will be a long-term problem, but I have to be careful.

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