Sunderland’s players face just as much of a battle with their emotions as they do with the opposition they face, according to manager Jack Ross.
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The Black Cats entertain Doncaster Rovers at the Stadium of Light on Friday, kick-off 5:15pm, with just five Sky Bet League One games remaining.
Sitting third and two points behind Barnsley in second, the Lads have it all to do as they face play-off contenders Rovers before travelling to Peterborough United just three days later.
But Ross knows if his side are to achieve their goal of promotion this campaign, then they must remain grounded throughout the run-in to avoid further missed opportunities like Burton Albion and Coventry City in their last two.
“The season has been emotionally draining for everybody involved in the club and the journey we've been on over the last eight or nine months,” he told the media at his pre-match press conference.
“But if you strip it back and look at where we're at, what lies ahead and what we could possibly achieve, the truth is we've got five games left and if we win them then we still achieve it.
“The margin for error is obviously less because of the last couple of games but such is the nature of the season - not just for us but the other teams at the top - then I would imagine there will still be some twist and turns over the remaining fixtures.
“I certainly felt that last Saturday, although, obviously the way the game panned out probably added to that, but certainly I think pre-match you felt that added intensity for the game. That happens when you're chasing the prize. What we have to be careful of is we don't get drawn into playing in a manner where we lose control of our emotions.
“You have to play with emotion and be passionate about what you do but I think we've shown that we've got that in the group - even how we performed to come back (against Coventry),” he continued.
“But we have to keep making good decisions and I think in the last couple of games we've maybe lost a little bit of control.
“I take my responsibility for that in terms of controlling the game and controlling some of the decisions within it, whereas because of the record we've had at the stadium this season, we've controlled other games and had more of a grip on them, which has allowed us to win games.”
