Three points a must at the Riverside for Sunderland and O’Shea

Sunderland skipper John O’Shea says his side know three points are essential when they head to the Riverside on Wednesday after the Black Cats came close but failed to secure a win once again when they faced West Ham last Saturday.

The 35-year-old defender said he was grateful that Lee Cattermole and Wahbi Khazri would feature in Wednesday’s game with Middlesbrough, after Khazri scored Sunderland’s first goal in seven games at the Stadium of Light last weekend.

But despite the Tunisian’s sublime corner effort, Sunderland have occupied the bottom spot in the Premier League for over three months and beating Middlesbrough, currently three points clear of David Moyes’ side, is their only way up.

O’Shea’s team can take some hope from Middlesbrough’s recent form though, with the midweek hosts currently on a 15-match streak without a win.

(Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

“We know we’re at the stage now where wins are key and that has to be our total focus ahead of the Middlesbrough game,” O’Shea said.

“We saw the game against Arsenal and they (Middlesbrough) caused them problems,” he said.

“It was a decent performance and they were unable to take anything from it, so, just like we will be, they’ll be targeting three points on Tuesday.

“It’s away from home and it’ll be a real derby atmosphere, but they’re the games you want to be a part of. We’re all looking forward to it.”