Tim Sherwood says Aston Villa are ready for the home straight and wants to avoid a photo finish in the relegation battle . The boss takes his Barclays Premier League thoroughbreds to Sunderland on Saturday for a crunch clash . The Black Cats are a point and a place ahead of fourth-bottom Villa , who themselves are just three points above the drop zone . Tim Sherwood hopes the Premier League relegation battle does not end up being a photo-finish . And with the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday , Sherwood is hoping Villa , who have never been relegated from the Premier League , can avoid being unseated . He said : ' I think it 'll be a photo finish and I hope we 're not in it . 'We 're probably just coming around the corner but it 's probably the longest run-in in racing history . 'All we 're looking at is the next fence and that 's Sunderland . After that we hope we can stay in the running . There might be a few who fall along the way and we 're hoping that 's not us . ' Villa have won their last two under Sherwood , beating West Brom twice in the league and the FA Cup to reach the semi-finals . They were the new manager 's first wins since replacing Paul Lambert in February and Sherwood has been impressed with the squad 's attitude . 'They 've been good and a win makes an awful lot of difference . They have been focused and up for the fight , ' he said . 'They have n't dwelt on the position . It 's about looking forward now , what we have done previously counts for nothing . ' Sherwood , before becoming head coach , was at Tottenham as assistant first-team coach under Harry Redknapp and worked with Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe at White Hart Lane . The 32-year-old returned to England in January after a year with Toronto in Major League Soccer and Sherwood believes Defoe is the Black Cats ' chief threat . He said : 'If they are going to survive it 's going to be Jermain Defoe who keeps them in the Premier League , that 's why they forked out that sort of money for him . 'He did n't have to go , he went for a lifestyle change to Canada but he still has that appetite to come back and play for Sunderland , in a relegation battle . 'Jermain can score goals on his own but he prefers people to slide the ball across the six-yard box for him to be in the right place at the right time , that 's what he 's done all of his career . '
Aston Villa are battling to remain in the Premier League . Tim Sherwood has had a positive impact since taking over . TL;DR Sherwood wants to avoid a photo-finish at the end of the season .