Denver Hume has challenged Sunderland under-23s to produce a performance worthy of ending their frustrating Premier League 2 hoodoo.
The young Black Cats welcome Arsenal to Eppleton Colliery Welfare on Saturday, kick-off 12pm, searching for their first domestic victory since their scalp on the south coast at Southampton in December.
But while Elliott Dickman’s side have slipped down the table, confidence has remained high as the Lads have reached next month’s International Cup final against FC Porto.
And with the Gunners set to descend on the Hetton-le-Hole ground tomorrow, full-back Hume has told safc.com his team-mates must turn their frustrations into a positive if they’re to end their final home game this season with all three points.
“We have got three games left this season, two in the league, so we want to try and finish the season as best as we can,” he said.
“Our aim has to win every game because we want to end the year as positive as we can.
“It was a tough game at Chelsea last time out.
“It was a good experience to play at Stamford Bridge but whenever you play a team like Chelsea you know you are going to be in for a tough evening.”
He continued: “We want to try and put that result behind us now, move onto this weekend’s match against Arsenal and hopefully collect a win.
“All focus is on that game and then after that we can look to Reading and then our European final.”
