IT says it all nobody asks Steven Fletcher about the price tag anymore.

Numbers matter when it comes to the Scotland striker, but no longer the eye-watering fee which was paid for him in the summer.

Eight was the figure on everyone’s lips on Saturday – as in the number of times he has found the back of the net in his new colours.

It is a very respectable tally for a player whose team haven’t always laid on the best service.

Fletcher isn’t always the most natural interviewee but he is a popular character in the Sunderland dressing room, where he has become a quiet talisman.

His appetite for self-improvement is almost as voracious as it is for his favourite drink, Irn-Bru.

Fletcher said: “2013 can be a good year for Sunderland – we just need to go on a run.

“If we build up a bit of momentum that will be good for us.

“We just need to get this difficult Christmas out of the way and start putting as many points on the board as possible.

“This year has been a good year for me.

“I have eight goals so far this season and have come into the club and started well.

“Nobody talks about the price tag any more, they just talk about my goals and that’s really good for me.”

Saturday’s win probably parks talk of scrapping at the bottom for a while, at least.

Fletcher added: “People were talking about relegation before the game, but we were never talking about it and we weren’t listening to that kind of talk.

“We never listened to that at all. We’re a good side and we know we are. We just need to take every game as it comes and hope we get a few more wins.”

Next up for the Black Cats are Manchester City in a repeat of a memorable festive fixture from last year.

That was the game where Ji Dong-Won made his one and only notable contribution to the red and white cause.

Fletcher said: “It would be great to make an impact in a game like that.

“It would be nice to get another goal under my belt and another win for the team, although it’s Manchester City so you know nothing will come easy against them.”

Saturday’s game hardly went the way former Black Cats goalkeeper Kelvin Davis wanted on what was the 600th league appearance of his career.

The Saints club captains aid: “It was a bit like the weather. We didn’t quite get out of second or third gear.

“We showed good flashes, got ourselves in good positions but then didn’t have that finishing touch.

“The ball dropped in and around the box for us, but there was nobody around to get their foot on it.”