Sunderland may have to win all five of their remaining games to give themselves a chance of squeezing into the play-off places, according to Tony Mowbray. The Black Cats are still in the play-off race, with four points standing between them and the top six.
With back-to-back home games against Birmingham City on Saturday and then Huddersfield Town on Tuesday, Sunderland can apply real pressure on their rivals if they emerge from those two fixtures with six points. They would then round off their season with three games against sides who also harbour play-off ambitions, with a trip to West Brom, a home game against Watford, and then a last-day trip to Preston North End.
But to reach the point where those games really matter, Mowbray knows his team must first find the wins they need against 17th-placed Birmingham and 19th-placed Huddersfield. Mowbray said: "You can see the finish line now, just down the road.
