Phil Parkinson has admitted Saturday’s Sky Bet League One meeting with Portsmouth at the Stadium of Light could carry “added importance” come the end of the season.
The south coast side have built an impressive away record so far this term, and Parkinson claimed the Lads must dig deep and look to put in a display worthy of a potentially vital victory.
“I think those games against your perceived league rivals carry that added importance,” the manager declared.
“There is no doubt about it that Portsmouth will be a team in and around the top six, they had a good result in the week against Gillingham, and a couple of surprising indifferent results this season as well.
“Both sides are expected to do well this season, but we don’t have the idea that we should win games because we’re Sunderland – we should only win when we earn the right to win matches. This is the drum we keep banging to the lads, and the work-rate and discipline reflect that.”
The Black Cats are the last men standing this season in terms of an unbeaten record, having won four and drawn two of our six league games, conceding just one goal – from the penalty spot on the opening day against Bristol Rovers.
Parkinson’s side have scored seven goals in those six games, securing hard-fought wins, and the boss is adamant that his team will begin to deliver in front of goal on a more regular basis moving forward.
“We always want to win convincingly, but the three points is the most important factor along with the performance level.
“We talk about the clean sheets which are good, and a lot of the reason for those clean sheets is – as well as some great defending – because we are in the ascendancy for large parts of games.
“We’re creating great opportunities and we need to increase our percentage of chances on target, but I’m convinced somewhere along the line, we’ll score four or five goals.”
Parkinson finally touched on key aspects of the team’s early successes, including leadership and versatility amongst the squad.
“In any squad, you have to have versatile players. Lynden [Gooch] and Luke [O’Nien] in particular have shown that very well so far this season.
“It’s important we have players in the system we play to be able to pass the ball, drive forward with energy, and eliminate opposing players out of the game.
“We have those types of players, and we have leaders in the squad, like Bailey [Wright] – players with a lot of character. You need that – players who will influence their teammates on and off the pitch – and they’re hard to find.”