Sunderland have been written off by many, but Chris Coleman has issued a message to the Black Cats’ Sky Bet Championship rivals and stated the battle for survival is far from over.
A disappointing nine-game winless run has seen the Lads slip five points adrift of safety, but with nine games remaining and 27 points to play for, the Welshman is refusing to be downbeat.
On Saturday, the Black Cats return to the Stadium of Light as they aim to close the gap at the bottom, with Alex Neil’s Preston North End posing the next challenge.
And although Coleman admits play-off chasing North End will pose a stern opposition, he urged his players to pick up three points which will kickstart their journey to safety.
“We have to have that siege mentality,” said the boss.
“It only takes one win to give people a bit of hope and we haven’t had that yet, but we still took a couple of thousand down to Queens Park Rangers, and we just need one win to turn it round.”
He continued: “When you’re at the bottom of the league, everything is amplified.
“Everything is bigger, there’s more pressure, and Preston are going for the play-offs after winning back-to-back games, whereas we’ve just lost our last two.
“It seems like most games we go into it’s the same theme – teams doing well – because everyone is doing better than us, but that’s just how it is and it’s not too late to change that.
“Until it’s too late to change our fate, I will never change my outlook on it, my opinion, I know it’s a challenge, I know it’s daunting and I know it’s scary, but let’s go and have it.
“Let’s go and change the feeling of ‘Sunderland are a right-off’, as that’s what people are saying, and we’re the ones who can change that.”