The Black Cats are 10 points clear of the relegation zone with just eight Premier League games left to be played.
“We’re not safe yet,” he told the club’s official website. “The history and mentality of this club shows we can’t take things for granted.
“Look at last year. Everyone thought we were safe with 8 games to go but we got sucked into it again. We must guard against that.”
Sunderland face Aston Villa on Wednesday night.
“I’ve said for weeks there’s been shoots of recovery there,” he continued. “Now we can turn things the other way and say we’ve lost one game in 8, which is very decent form.
“We’ll need that form going into Villa, going into Liverpool, going into Tottenham. We couldn’t wish for three tougher games and now we’ll see how far we’ve come.”
