Sunderland's mentally fragile players will be pushed to the limits against Bolton and Middlesbrough

I hope it is not an omen, but this game reminds me so much of the Birmingham City game last month - which was also a midweek game under the lights against a relegation-threatened team - and we all know how that ended.

Birmingham have moved out of the bottom three since that result and given themselves a fighting chance of survival, and Bolton will know a win tonight would open up a seven-point gap over Sunderland, while giving themselves a massive boost for staying up.

So that is what Sunderland are up against, the Bolton players will be motivated to fight and scrap every inch on their own turf because the rewards could be enormous.

The Sunderland players must match that effort and physicality or, as happened at Birmingham, they will be out muscled and lose the game.

Both teams come into this crunch fixture on the back of a defeat and in Sunderland’s case, a demoralising one, so maybe it is better we are away and can somehow find the spirit they showed in their last away game with that late fightback.

However, that spirit and character has to be shown from the very first minute at the Macron Stadium as any player not up for it and we may as well not turn up at all.

As is so often in the Championship, as soon as one game ends then another quickly follows and that is the case when after the Bolton clash, Sunderland have four days to prepare for the visit of Middlesbrough.

Boro have already beaten us twice in league and cup this season at the Riverside and in our last home game against them last season, the Teessiders came out on top in that one too.

So Middlesbrough have easily had the best of things in recent times and if we are to change that then Sunderland must do it without Boro loan signing Ashley Fletcher and somehow figure out how to play at home.

So, Sunderland have two massive games coming up.

A six-pointer against a team around them and a high profile game against local rivals that will push a mentally fragile team to its limits.