Sunderland boss Roy Keane has called on his players to begin stringing together a consistent run of results. "That's what we want to achieve, certainly to be more consistent," he revealed. "The best run we had last year would be maybe three or four games unbeaten.
"I have been fairly pleased with the progress we have made over the last few weeks. There were good signs against Arsenal, the Fulham game and the other day.
"But we see these other teams, they can go on runs of eight, nine, 10, 11, 12 games, not necessarily the big boys, but other teams, the (Aston) Villas of this world and the Man Cities and the Blackburns.
"They have shown, particularly last year, that you can go on a decent run. A decent run can sometimes just be nicking draws here and there. That's the progress you want to be achieving at your football club, consistency, and we have not managed to do that."