Sunderland boss Gus Poyet has implored his team to play smartly against Bradford City this weekend.
The Black Cats head to Valley Parade on Sunday to meet the giant-killing Bantams in the fifth round of the FA Cup with Poyet knowing that the surface of the League One outfit is not up to scratch.
Bradford manager Phil Parkinson also recently criticised his own club's pitch, which could provide problems for both teams, but Poyet is targeting a clever performance from his visiting Sunderland side.
"I wouldn't like to use the pitch as any excuse but it's not ideal. I think there's no better way to define the state of the pitch than using Phil's words from a few weeks ago," he said.
"He knows how it is playing every two weeks and it's not nice but that's the pitch. We need to play there so we'll try.
"We have to adapt. We need to be very clever, partly as a team but a lot as individuals. Decisions you are going to have to make on your own are not normal decisions you will make in a normal football game.
"We will have to do certain things and avoid certain parts of the game we would normally use. Whether we go high will depend on the players and on the day. Normally the first 15 to 20 minutes is very difficult but then it settles down and you have a little bit more time.
"Depending on which part of the pitch you are on and who you are, you will do certain things but that is something I'm willing to change."
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