Dan Neil insists Sunderland are still in the play-off race - despite dropping two vital points at home against relegation strugglers Huddersfield Town on Tuesday. The Black Cats were held to a 1-1 draw by the Terriers, with Joe Gelhardt's first-half opener cancelled out by Josh Koroma's deflected strike in the second period.
It was a game that Sunderland needed to win to keep building momentum in the run-in as they eye a place in the play-offs, and it has made their task all the more difficult over the final three games. But, with those final three games pitting the Black Cats against play-off rivals West Bromwich Albion, Watford and Preston, they are still in with an outside chance and Neil says they will give it their best shot.
"I think probably a few weeks ago when we had that little bit of a tough spell everyone thought that the play-offs were out of our hands, and we have managed to claw ourselves back into contention," said the 21-year-old midfielder. "Tuesday night was a disappointing result but it's another point on the board, we still have to play everyone around us that is trying to get in the play-offs.
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"If we can take points from them, they are not gaining any. It's not over until the final whistle at the end of the season.
"We are going to give it our all to get as close to the play-offs or in them."
Neil has been a key member of the Sunderland side this season, playing in all-but one of their 43 league games - with 39 of his 42 appearances starts. And those games, along with three in the FA Cup, helped the academy graduate complete a century of appearances for the club, with that milestone coming against Huddersfield.
"It was a very proud day for me and my family," said Neil, who signed a contract extension last month which ties him to the club until 2026. "I've always wanted to play for this club.
"To say that I've played 100 [games] and hopefully counting is a massive achievement for me. I'm very proud and so are my family.
"If you had said even three or four years ago that I would make 100 appearances, I would have thought people would have been telling a lie. I think everyone knows that I have supported the club for a very long time and it is a boyhood dream to reach these amount of games."
Neil is set to make appearance number 101 on Sunday, when Sunderland's season continues at West Brom with the Wearsiders looking to pick up points at the expense of one of their fellow play-off contenders. And the fact that the game is away from home, where Sunderland have picked up the majority of their points this season, could count in their favour.
Neil said: "For some reason our away form has been really good this year. I'm not sure what I can put that down to, maybe teams are opening up more when they're at home and we're away.
"I definitely feel when we're at home teams sit in a lot more and try to hit us on the break, and maybe that's one of the reasons our home form hasn't been as good this year and we haven't quite found a fix for that. We have two away games left and one big game at home against Watford.
"I'll always fancy us against any team in the division, starting with West Brom on Sunday. It would be nice to really push on and give the fans something to get excited about on the last day of the season."
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