Sunderland under-23s must strive to replicate the same kind of form shown by Arsenal, according to Elliott Dickman.
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This Saturday sees the young Black Cats host an inform Gunners at Eppleton Colliery Welfare, kick-off 12pm, in their final Premier League 2 home game of the season.
Dickman’s side are without a domestic victory since December and as a result has slid down the table, leaving themselves languishing in 8th, seven points off Chelsea in fifth.
Arsenal, meanwhile, head to the north east with three wins from their last five games, and Dickman has told safc.com his players must target wins in their final two league games of the season.
“We have trained well and we had a good week after the Chelsea match,” he said.
“We have cranked things up which is maybe not normal for this stage of the season but to be fair to the lads they have done well.
“With no game last week it was good to just take stock and have a real good week of training.
“We have continued to give the players consistent messages that have seen them enjoy a certain amount of success in the cups.
“It is up to us to get results and we have to continue to play and make sure our performances are as good as the results can be,” he continued.
“The main thing is to try and get the players to understand we want to keep playing, building and progressing at this stage of the season.”