Sunderland boss Martin O’Neill has warned his players that they cannot afford to take their foot off the pedal just yet, after a downturn of form of late.
The Black Cats faced a relegation battle when the Northern Irishman took over at the Stadium of Light in December, but the inspirational coach has led the Wearside club up into the top half of the table.
However, Sunderland have not been at their best of late, and were beaten 2-0 by Everton at home in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday night; O’Neill has told the squad to buck up their ideas.
“Having reached 40 points, there’s absolutely no way we can afford to rest on our laurels. We’ve got to push on, and we can’t start to think about an early summer holiday,” he told Mirror Football.
“Back in December, if you’d offered me 40 points at the end of the season – never mind with eight games to go – I’d have been delighted.
“Back then, the chances are you might even have twisted my arm to accept 38. When I took over, the situation we’re in today looked a decent way off,” he concluded.
By Gareth McKnight
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