Chris Coleman admits his side have to overcome a ‘psychological barrier’, with Brentford next on the Welshman’s agenda.
Since arriving on Wearside, Coleman has overseen four wins in 13 league games, while also bolstering his defence to ensure five clean sheets in that time.
The test now, though, is to produce the levels his players have shown they are capable of reaching on a consistent basis, with last weekend’s six-goal thriller at Ashton Gate a prime example of their weaknesses and strengths.
And with time running out and points to play for, Coleman admits the Black Cats must shatter their physiological barriers and add consistency to their performances, and their results.
“The beauty of the Championship is that there’s always another game around the corner, but I’ve been here before – on the back of a good performance and result – and we don’t produce.
“There’s a psychological barrier that we need to break down and we’re running out of time, so whatever last week was it was, and this week – with a different formation maybe, different personnel maybe – let’s see what the mentality is.”
He continued: “It would be great if we come in at half-time tomorrow and we’re 3-0 up, but it rarely happens.
“The odds are there’s going to be scary moments and it’s going to be edgy, as we’re up against a good footballing team who are having a good season.
“It’s going to be tight and it’s going to be gritty, but how do we come through that and have we got it to overcome that challenge, it’s as simple as that and we’ll see.
“The only way out of it for us is to concentrate on the next one whether we’ve played good, bad or indifferent, because we end up getting dragged into negativity.
“You don’t want players like wheelbarrows that are only good, only useful when you push them, that’s no good and the first bump in the road they fall over anyway.
“It has to come from yourself and you have to ask yourself a question, and if you can’t do that you’re dead in the water, but we can do it – why am I saying that – because we’ve shown glimpses of it.
“It’s just repeating it and psychologically we have to overcome that.”