Sunderland assistant manager Steve Parkin has challenged the Black Cats to beat Scunthorpe United inside 90 minutes this evening, securing passage to the next round of the EFL Trophy, as reported by their official site.
Sunderland head to Glanford Park needing a win inside 90 minutes to secure their passage through to the knockout stages, after being beaten by Leicester City Under 21s a week ago.
The Black Cats have been on a bad run of form since before Parkin and Parkinson took over, but the gaffer’s assistant has spoken of a real determination amongst the players to put that run to an end.
“We’ll have a positive approach,” he said. “The lads have trained well this morning. They realise they let one slip on Saturday.”
Sunderland drew with Gillingham in the first round of the FA Cup this weekend, facilitating a trip to Priestfield for a replay before they think of a possible second-round tie against either Wimbledon or Doncaster.
“We know what we have got to do,” Parkin continued on the subject of tonight’s fixture.
“We know who we are playing against and we know the situation in terms of the competition, so we have got to go there and win – it is as simple as that.”
“The further you go in the competition, the better it becomes because of the carrot of Wembley at the end of it. The key for us is to produce a performance that lasts for 90 minutes.”
Sunderland reached the final of the competition last season, only to lose to Portsmouth at Wembley.
Our View
Whatever he says to the media, this game is not a priority. It’ll be a mix of struggling fringe players and the odd Under 23; the same mix that lost to Leicester last week.
Players such as De Bock and Dobson will get a runout, but they’re already in last-chance saloon after the debacle last week.
The only positive tonight is that they won’t be humbled at home in the cup for the third game in a row. They may ease past Scunthorpe, they may not, but whatever the outcome few will actually care.
