Wahbi Khazri is hoping to retain his place in the starting XI when Sunderland travel to Middlesbrough on Wednesday evening (KO 7.45pm).
The Tunisian made his first start since October against West Ham United last time out, and he was firing on all cylinders as David Moyes’ side were held to a 2-2 draw at the Stadium of Light.
Khazri, 26, opened the scoring in style netting directly from a corner, with his overall performance throughout the 90 minutes earning praise from all in red and white.
And speaking ahead of a trip to the Riverside, the winger set his sights on another starting berth.
“I hope so, it’s my job,” said Khazri when asked if he hoped to feature against Boro.
“I like this team and I like this club – the fans are unbelievable – so we need to fight and give 100%.”
He added: “It was a good game [on Saturday] and West Ham are not a bad team, they have some good players so it wasn’t a bad result, but it also wasn’t a good one.
“We are nine points behind Hull City and if we win at Middlesbrough we can cut that gap to six, so we need to keep the faith and fight for all 38 games.”