Sunderland boss Paolo di Canio is demanding victory over Capital One Cup opponents MK Dons.
Di Canio and his players will focus their attention on negotiating a path through a potentially tricky cup tie to progress in a competition the 45-year-old places on a par with the club's Premier League commitments.
He said: "I you want to build a winning mentality, it goes in line with the league. It's very, very important.
"It's obvious that from a company point of view, to maintain the league is crucial.
"To have life, not in terms of the economic situation, but in terms of results, in terms of delivering a winning mentality, we have to take every competition seriously with maximum effort and determination, otherwise we are never going to change the mentality.
"Obviously, you can lose, you can win, you can draw, but we can see if there is desire in facing MK Dons like we have to do against Manchester City.
"If we can change this mentality, we are going to be okay for the future also in the league because a winning habit is very important."
