Jermain Defoe has urged his team-mates to leave nothing in the tank as the Premier League season reaches its climax.
With 14 top-flight goals this season, the Sunderland striker tops the Black Cats’ scoring charts by a distance, but he’s failed to find the net – as have his team-mates – since a 4-0 rout at Crystal Palace two months ago.
And there can be no excuses according to the England international, who is happy to shoulder the pressure of winning games and scoring the goals that matter.
“Working hard for the team is the first thing anyone should do,” said Defoe.
“Playing nice football and scoring goals is something that can look after itself, but you have to give everything.”
He continued: “I’ve set high standards at every club I've played for and people expect you to score goals so it’s important you keep doing it, because if you don’t people will start asking questions.
“You have to prepare properly but it’s not as if I sit there thinking ‘there’s a lot of pressure on me’ because it’s no different to being at my previous clubs where people also expected me to score.
“When people expect something you’ve just got to do it.
“There are no excuses, you have to score goals.”