Sunderland need to be mentally prepared for derby, says Sam Allardyce
Saturday 19 March 2016 12:46, UK
Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce knows his team must be mentally ready for Sunday's crucial derby showdown with Newcastle United.
The Black Cats travel to St James' Park with a one-point advantage over the Magpies with both teams battling to avoid relegation from the Premier League.
Allardyce said: "Mentally you have to be right, my players need to be right mentally. My focus has been on the mental side of this game because there's so much at stake.
"They have to make sure they can manage the game well mentally to produce the abilities they have got, which will hopefully give them the desire and the ability and the aptitude to try to win this game.
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"If we keep control mentally, we will be in a very good place because we have been playing pretty well. We have to focus on making sure when a chance comes our way that hopefully we will have the right player at the right time to convert that chance into a goal."
Sunderland will be seeking a seventh successive derby victory over Newcastle and looking to complete a double over their neighbours after winning 3-0 at the Stadium of Light in Allardyce's second game in charge in October.
Newcastle dominated the first half of that match and were denied a penalty seconds before the hosts were awarded one with Magpies skipper Fabricio Coloccini being sent off, a decision which was later rescinded on appeal.
Allardyce said: "Each and every game of football is different, the bounce of the ball and the rub of the green, somebody being in the right place at the right time - the referee making a mistake [that counts] against you is another scenario you don't want to happen in a big derby like this, especially with so much at stake.
"We can look after ourselves and then other factors can take the game away from you."
Allardyce spent eight months in charge at Newcastle and hopes to enjoy his return to his former club.
He said: "There's only one way you can enjoy a derby, and that's by winning it. There's no other way. You can say the atmosphere is great, but it's not great if you don't win it.
"The only way you can really enjoy a derby match is by actually winning it, and of course you want to not just win it for yourself, you want to win it for the fans. You know how important it is to them and you want them to have the bragging rights for the rest of that week."
