Jack Ross has this message to his Sunderland players ahead of Oxford United game

And while Ross doesn’t mind the Oxford squad enjoying their visit to Wearside in the build-up, when the whistle blows he hopes they can’t wait to leave.

Sunderland won three games in six days last week to propel them into an automatic promotion spot.

And Ross wants to keep up the pressure when third-bottom Oxford head to the Stadium of Light tomorrow (KO 3pm), with a huge crowd of 30,000 plus expected.

“I think each and every game this season has been good for me, because they’ve all been very different,” said Ross.

“Naturally every opponent is new for me as a manager, but what we’ve faced in terms of style of play and how teams have approached the game against us has been different each and every time.

“Even on Saturday, I was probably a little bit surprised at how Wimbledon played in terms of how direct they were, because I’ve watched a lot of their stuff and they did play in a different way, a different style at times.

“Again, this Saturday, we’ve done as much preparation as we always do for Oxford.

“We prepare for how we think they will play, but they may surprise us again and then it’s up to us to be flexible and adapt to that.

“Equally, they come into it off the back of a good week for them. They won their first game last weekend and followed that with victory in the cup. I think every team will enjoy the anticipation of coming to our stadium.

“I keep repeating myself, but it’s about making sure the reality of that is very different.

“The enjoyment part for them will hopefully be when they arrive at the ground and are looking about it before kick-off, and saying ‘wow, this is a great place to play’.

“But hopefully after twenty minutes they feel suffocated and can’t wait to get out of here. That is the challenge for us again this weekend,” added the Sunderland boss.

Sunderland moved into second in League One with nine points from nine after victories over Scunthorpe United, Gillingham and AFC Wimbledon capping off a fine six days for Ross & Co.