New signing Tal Ben Haim has set his sights on helping to drag Sunderland away from the relegation zone.

The 26-year-old Israel international has joined the Black Cats for the rest of the season, although he was not registered in time to play in Wednesday night's FA Cup fourth-round replay at Blackburn.

That means he could make his debut in the league clash with Stoke at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, and he is relishing the prospect of linking up with former Bolton coach Ricky Sbragia once again.

Ben Haim told the club's official website, www.safc.com: "I'm happy to come here, play some football and help Sunderland achieve their targets.

"I know Ricky from Bolton and it will be good to work with him again.

"Sunderland should be higher up in the table and I hope that will be the case over the next four months."

The Wearsiders are four points clear of the bottom three in 13th place after yesterday's 1-1 derby draw at Newcastle.