Sunderland boss Paolo di Canio has made it clear to his players how important Monday's clash with Aston Villa is in their careers.

Di Canio has tried different methods to try to get the most out of his players and this week he has ordered them to consider Monday's match as the most important game of their lives.

He said: "If we win on Monday, we stay up. I told my players that Monday is our Champions League final. That is what I have been saying ever since we joined up again at the start of the week.

"They have to think of this week as the most important week of the season. If we win on Monday, we will stay up with three weeks to spare. It will probably not be mathematically certain, but it will be very close."