John O’Shea has thrown down the gauntlet to his team-mates and challenged them to clinch their first clean sheet in the Premier League at Stoke City.
Sunderland head to the Bet365 stadium a week tomorrow with high hopes of returning with at least a point for the third season running.
Having drawn their last two games at Stoke, O’Shea told safc.com a clean sheet is essential this time round as the lads look to claw their way up the league following the conclusion of the international break.
The 35-year-old also praised Jordan Pickford’s efforts between the sticks and admitted while he still has plenty to learn he has the makings of a top class goalkeeper.
“You have to be ready and the manager decided it was my turn (to play against West Brom),” he said.
“I had to come in and impress, we were desperate for a clean sheet because that is the big thing going for us.
“If we can get that clean sheet then we are going to get chances to score so we need to keep working on that."
He continued: “Pickers has been impressive, his kicking is quality at times but sometimes he has to calm himself down because the game is going so fast.
"t’s end to end and we just need to try and keep control of it because that kind of adds to the tension.
“If he can control that a little bit then he is going to be a top class keeper.”
