Adnan Januzaj has come out fighting following Sunderland’s defeat to Burnley and urged his team-mates to battle til the final second against Liverpool.
The Black Cats’ hopes of a happy New Year were dashed by an opportunistic Burnley side on Saturday, with the ruthless Andre Gray making them pay for their defensive lapses with a terrific treble.
Ashley Barnes also found the net on a day to forget at Turf Moor, but Liverpool endured no such woes at Anfield where they dispatched fellow title-challengers Manchester City.
Speaking ahead of the game, Januzaj admitted that improvement is simply non-negotiable.
“It was a difficult afternoon on Saturday and we must bounce back against Liverpool.
“It will be tough but our performance simply has to be better, and it won’t be easy for Liverpool to come to the Stadium of Light because of the atmosphere our fans create.”
He continued: “We’ve shown against the top teams – Manchester City, Chelsea and also Liverpool – that we can compete and we’ve pushed them close even if we haven’t managed to pick up a result.
“On Saturday we didn’t concentrate, especially in defensive areas, and we can’t afford to let that happen again, so we have to sort ourselves out and stay focussed.
“It’s hard not to dwell because we don’t like losing and there is a real disappointment in the dressing room, but we have to move on and stick together.
“We need to fight as a team and we must fight for every ball on Monday.”
