Mauricio Pochettino has piled the pressure on his players ahead of Tottenham Hotspur’s trip to the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland host Spurs on Tuesday evening (KO 7.45pm) and points are at a premium at both ends of the table, with the Black Cats vying to close the gap and the Londoners aiming to crank up the pressure on Premier League leaders Chelsea.
David Moyes will be able to call upon Lamine Kone and Didier Ndong following their respective returns from the Africa Cup of Nations, but the Spurs boss also has reinforcements with Toby Alderweireld, Danny Rose and Harry Kane fit to face the Black Cats.
“We need to feel the same — that the three points are important for them but they are very important for us too,” said Pochettino. “We have to be aware of the pressure that we need to win and we need to keep the three points because at the end of the season we need to fight for big things.
“It will bring us the possibility to improve our position and to be near the top of the table, so this is a very important game.”
He continued: "Harry [Kane] is okay, he's training well today and is available for tomorrow, Toby [Alderweireld] is the same and Danny [Rose] as well.
“Jan [Vertonghen] has started to run – we're happy and positive but the timing is the same as we said before, a few weeks.
"We need to be cautious with Erik [Lamela]; he's positive and has started to run a little but we need to assess him day by day."