Jack Ross believes everyone - the players, staff and fans - needs to embrace the challenge of the Play-Offs if promotion is to be achieved.
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Sunderland enter their semi-final first leg against Portsmouth on Saturday, kick-off 7:30pm, looking to capitalise on their home advantage at the Stadium of Light.
If results in the Champions League midweek show that the aggregate score will count for little at full-time on Saturday, Ross knows the significance of a collective show of strength from all corners of the club in the race for promotion.
Having endured a frustrating run of just one win in seven, the Sunderland manager has insisted the slate has been whipped clean and it's now up to everyone - players, fans and staff - to pull together to get the job done.
“I think we’ve seen first-hand the significance of support within the stadium and the good thing is they (Sunderland’s players) have responded to the bigger crowds,” he said.
“Some of the games at home – Charlton the first game of the season, off the top of my head, the recent match against Doncaster, and even the recent match against Portsmouth - the atmosphere has been terrific and the players and opposition have commented on it after the game.
“It’s absolutely terrific when it’s like that, but you can’t take that for granted and expect that to be the case.
“It’s not just people associated with Sunderland, but opposition players and coaches comment on the noise that can be created within our stadium.
“Ideally you would like as many of our fans to turn out as possible, but the team have got a duty for the ones that turn out to make sure they perform the way they have done for large parts of the season and give them a victory.
“The numbers that turn up in the stadium shouldn’t determine how well we play.
“It can always be a benefit, but there’s a duty on us to go out and perform regardless.”
He continued: “Do you sit and feel sorry for yourself, or do you embrace the next two or three games and get excited by them? They’re big games to be involved in and there’s a big prize at stake which is only three games away.
“Because we’ve had the week in between (the defeat at Southend United and Portsmouth’s visit) it’s given us the chance to regroup and stress that it comes down to a two-three game season.”
