Luke O'Nien knows it will be tough to make the play-offs, but that doesn't mean Sunderland won't be going all-out to achieve it.
The Black Cats have exceeded expectations in this their first season back in the Championship, spending the majority of the campaign in the top half of the table. That success has seen them flirt with the play-off picture and, although a run of just one win in their last seven league games has seen them fall off the pace slightly, they are more than capable of making a late push for the top six.
Manager Tony Mowbray has been keen to play down promotion talk, preferring instead to long at the long view, with the club building for sustainable success. However, versatile O'Nien sees no reason why they can't mount a challenge in the final eight games.
“Each game in isolation has been very good, so there’s no reason why we can’t go on and get lots more points," he said. "We want to finish as high as possible, and I would be lying if I said we still haven’t got eyes on the play-offs.
"You play games to win, and we want to get in the play-offs and we want to get promoted.
“It will be tough, but the boys have still got eyes there and we’ll break that down further and take each game in isolation and do our homework. If we win, we’ll continue doing the good things and if we lose, we’ll learn and continue to do the good things and see where that takes us.”
Their task after the international break is not an easy one, with a trip to Turf Moor to take on Burnley next Friday night (March 31). However, Sunderland then host Hull City and Birmingham either side of a trip to face Cardiff City.
