Alex Neil insists Sunderland's slender one-goal lead will not change his approach to tomorrow's play-off semi-final second leg at Sheffield Wednesday. Ross Stewart scored the only goal of the game when the Black Cats took on the Owls at the Stadium of Light on Friday night.
And tomorrow the sides meet again at Hillsborough, with a place in the Wembley final against either Wycombe or MK Dons the prize. Sunderland's first-leg win means that Neil must calibrate his gameplan, deciding whether to try to defend their lead or chase further goals to kill-off the tie.
Asked how the outcome of Friday's game affects his thinking going into the second leg, Neil said: "It doesn't really change things for me. At the end of the day, it's a one-goal lead so one goal changes the game, so it doesn't change my view on the tie.
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"I think if it was 2-0, it is slightly different because then if you do concede you still have an advantage. We know what we have to do. People read a lot into how you want to approach it, what your mindset looks like, and what have you.
"What you're really asking is whether I'm going to batten down the hatches, or am I going to go for another goal? Of course I'm not going to say, but that's what you want to know! I'm going to do as always, dance around the question, not really answer it, and leave you to draw your own conclusions!"
As for Wednesday boss Darren Moore, he will have no alternative other than to play to win in order to overturn that first leg deficit. "It's a do or die moment - they need come out and win the game," said Neil.
"He will have fully expected us to try to win the match at our place, and I'm fully expecting him to do the same down there. I don't think there will be any mind games really, no big surprises."
Neil is a two-time play-off winner, having led Norwich City to victory over Middlesbrough at Wembley and promotion to the Premier League in 2015, and having taken Hamilton Academical into the Scottish Premiership the previous season.
He understands what is at stake as Sunderland look to end their four-year stay in League One, and has backed his players to handle the pressure of a sold-out Hillsborough, just as they did in front of almost 45,000 fans on Wearside on Friday. "It's going to be a huge game," he said.
"There's a lot riding on it, there's a lot at stake. We coped with that pressure really well the other day and I don't expect it to be any different at their place. It's a final step for us to get to where we want to go."
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