Skipper Corry Evans has shrugged off his 'unsung hero' status, insisting Sunderland need their experienced players to come to the fore in the run-in. After what he admits was a stop-start beginning to his Sunderland career when injuries held him back, Northern Ireland midfielder Evans has shown his worth in recent weeks and has played an important part as the Black Cats look to secure a play-off spot.
Head coach Alex Neil has described the 31-year-old as 'key' since he took over in February, highlighting the way he reads the game and does the unglamorous work in the middle of the park. But former Blackburn man Evans believes he is simply benefiting from having an extended run in the side.
"At the start of the season and throughout it was a bit stop-start with the injuries and it just took a bit of a while to get going," he said. "I missed a large chunk of pre-season and I think any professional footballer knows that when you miss that through whatever reason it takes a while to get your rhythm going again.
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"As the manager has come in I’ve played a lot of games and a lot of minutes and am reaping the rewards of that now."
Of the criticism, and more recently the praise, he has received, he added: "It's all part and parcel of football and I've been through it all before. It gets to this stage of the season now and that's where you need the experienced players to come through.
"We have a good mix in the changing room and it goes to show the team and type of squad that we have when we’ve won by late goals. We'll keep going with that never say die attitude and it's important to have that, especially in these rounds of games."
Evans again impressed in Sunderland's Easter Monday goalless draw at play-off rivals Plymouth - a game that saw the Black Cats extend their unbeaten run to ten matches, even if they could not claim the fourth successive win that would have taken them a significant step closer to their goal of a top six finish. As it was, the draw meant they are still well-placed in the play-off race going into the final week of the season.
Asked if Sunderland would have taken a point beforehand, he said: "Yeah probably. Looking on the back of things now. Obviously we went there with a game plan to win the match but it was also equally important we didn't get beat.
"We haven't lost momentum or ground on Plymouth, who are in the play-off places. We have an extra game on a couple of teams in the play-off places and we have to make the most of that game."
The race for a play-off place remains tight, and Evans admits it could go to the final day a week on Saturday when Sunderland visit Morecambe, but before then they face Cambridge on Saturday and automatic promotion contenders Rotherham on Tuesday, both on Wearside. Evans said: "It could do [go to the last game] but we are prepared for that and if it has to be it will be that way.
"It's the added buzz of coming to this stage of the season now and it's do-or-die really. We will keep a level head and take it one game at a time and see where we end up. We just have to keep our heads and look forward to Saturday.
"I think sometimes it’s only natural you have a little look [at the league table] but we are just concentrating and taking it one game at a time, and that'll be Saturday with Cambridge at home and then just go from there."
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