16-03-2018, 22:49
Chris Coleman is determined to see his players to shake things up at the bottom this weekend with victory over Preston North End.
Sunderland welcome Alex Neil and his men to the Stadium of Light this Saturday, looking to secure their first win since January.
Currently five adrift of safety in the Sky Bet Championship, the Welshman is determined to inspire his side to land a few punches in an attempt to close the gap on 21st place Barnsley who entertain Millwall at 1pm this Saturday.
Speaking at his press conference on Friday morning, Coleman admitted with just nine games left his players can no longer look to the next match or the one after that for hope, they must start collecting points now if they are to turn the tide on their season.
“Forget about our home form or the situation there. It is a game of football at 3pm where anything can happen,” he said.
“They will know it will be a tough game for them as well as us.
“Both teams are playing for a lot but let’s just see where we end up at 5pm. For them, they will know the situation we are in and that we are fighting for ourselves.
“I’m sure they will be in the same mood because they need the three points as well.
“When people say you are going to need four, five or six wins to stay up – nobody knows what is needed.
“It is a crazy league in the Championship. You never know one result from the next. The inconsistencies (are there for all to see), we should’ve really got something against QPR last weekend even with 10 men.
“And then you see QPR go to Aston Villa in midweek, who have been one an incredible run, and win 3-1. That is this league.
“How many wins we need we don’t know,” he continued. “We just need to look at our next game like it is our last game and put everything into that.
“We need something positive. A positive feeling. Home or away it doesn’t matter it is about getting something positive and one 90-minute match can change everything.
“We have just got to make sure we are on the end of that in a positive way.”
Alex Neil believes the position Sunderland find themselves in makes them a ‘dangerous’ side to face at this stage of the season.
The Black Cats sit at the foot of the Sky Bet Championship table, looking to close the gap on 21st place Barnsley who hold a five-point lead over them at the moment.
And while the Tykes will have the chance to extend the gap before Sunderland even kick a ball tomorrow, as they face Millwall at 1pm, that doesn’t make Preston’s challenge any easier according to Neil.
“We’ve got to look at and understand our opponent's motivation coming into a game,” the Scotsman told Preston’s official website.
“If they’re desperate for the points, for whatever reason, we’ve got to understand that this isn’t a game where they’ve got nothing to play for.”
“I think these type of teams are really dangerous to play against, they need the points, we also need the points, so you’re just hoping in terms of playing under pressure that we can handle that and hopefully go out and perform.
“It was tough against Sunderland earlier on in the season. I think that there was a lot of emotion that day - obviously Simon (Grayson) and Aiden (McGeady) were coming back for the first time since they left, and I think Sunderland were naturally always going to raise their game.”
He continued: “We went ahead in the game back in September and probably should have kept the lead. We didn’t and then the game ended in a draw. Despite their position in the league at the moment, I am expecting an equally tough game on Saturday.
“I think there’s a lot pressure coming into Saturday’s game at Sunderland. The fans will be nervous and agitated because they think their team should be doing better and we’ve got to take advantage of that.
“It’s a difficult one for Sunderland at the moment. However, if you look at recent results from sides who are near the bottom of the table, they’re picking up results now. I think it can be really dangerous playing sides near the bottom at this stage of this season because they’re fighting for their lives, they know what’s at stake and they’re running out of time.”
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Sunderland welcome Alex Neil and his men to the Stadium of Light this Saturday, looking to secure their first win since January.
Currently five adrift of safety in the Sky Bet Championship, the Welshman is determined to inspire his side to land a few punches in an attempt to close the gap on 21st place Barnsley who entertain Millwall at 1pm this Saturday.
Speaking at his press conference on Friday morning, Coleman admitted with just nine games left his players can no longer look to the next match or the one after that for hope, they must start collecting points now if they are to turn the tide on their season.
“Forget about our home form or the situation there. It is a game of football at 3pm where anything can happen,” he said.
“They will know it will be a tough game for them as well as us.
“Both teams are playing for a lot but let’s just see where we end up at 5pm. For them, they will know the situation we are in and that we are fighting for ourselves.
“I’m sure they will be in the same mood because they need the three points as well.
“When people say you are going to need four, five or six wins to stay up – nobody knows what is needed.
“It is a crazy league in the Championship. You never know one result from the next. The inconsistencies (are there for all to see), we should’ve really got something against QPR last weekend even with 10 men.
“And then you see QPR go to Aston Villa in midweek, who have been one an incredible run, and win 3-1. That is this league.
“How many wins we need we don’t know,” he continued. “We just need to look at our next game like it is our last game and put everything into that.
“We need something positive. A positive feeling. Home or away it doesn’t matter it is about getting something positive and one 90-minute match can change everything.
“We have just got to make sure we are on the end of that in a positive way.”
Alex Neil believes the position Sunderland find themselves in makes them a ‘dangerous’ side to face at this stage of the season.
The Black Cats sit at the foot of the Sky Bet Championship table, looking to close the gap on 21st place Barnsley who hold a five-point lead over them at the moment.
And while the Tykes will have the chance to extend the gap before Sunderland even kick a ball tomorrow, as they face Millwall at 1pm, that doesn’t make Preston’s challenge any easier according to Neil.
“We’ve got to look at and understand our opponent's motivation coming into a game,” the Scotsman told Preston’s official website.
“If they’re desperate for the points, for whatever reason, we’ve got to understand that this isn’t a game where they’ve got nothing to play for.”
“I think these type of teams are really dangerous to play against, they need the points, we also need the points, so you’re just hoping in terms of playing under pressure that we can handle that and hopefully go out and perform.
“It was tough against Sunderland earlier on in the season. I think that there was a lot of emotion that day - obviously Simon (Grayson) and Aiden (McGeady) were coming back for the first time since they left, and I think Sunderland were naturally always going to raise their game.”
He continued: “We went ahead in the game back in September and probably should have kept the lead. We didn’t and then the game ended in a draw. Despite their position in the league at the moment, I am expecting an equally tough game on Saturday.
“I think there’s a lot pressure coming into Saturday’s game at Sunderland. The fans will be nervous and agitated because they think their team should be doing better and we’ve got to take advantage of that.
“It’s a difficult one for Sunderland at the moment. However, if you look at recent results from sides who are near the bottom of the table, they’re picking up results now. I think it can be really dangerous playing sides near the bottom at this stage of this season because they’re fighting for their lives, they know what’s at stake and they’re running out of time.”
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Why should a man go to work, if he has the health and strength to stay in bed?