Alex Neil issues this strong Sunderland warning ahead of their latest League One test

Alex Neil has warned that Sunderland cannot afford to take Shrewsbury Town lightly as they bid to bolster their top-six aspirations on Good Friday.
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The Sunderland head coach says that Steve Cotterill's side, who are now safe from the threat of relegation from League One, will be able to play with the freedom of a side with nothing to lose at the Stadium of Light.

Neil has also pointed to their impressive defensive record as evidence of the task that awaits his side, one he is confident they can overcome at their best.

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"If you take when Gillingham came to the Stadium of Light for instance, every point is a prisoner for them," Neil said.

Sunderland boss Alex NeilSunderland boss Alex Neil
Sunderland boss Alex Neil

"They wanted to come here, set their stall out to be hard to beat. If you're Shrewsbury, you can come here and give it a go.

"The one thing I do want to point out with Shrewsbury is that they've got the third best defensive record in the league, having conceded 40 goals from 42 games.

"So these are going to be really difficult to beat, they're averaging a goal-per-game as well.

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"They've got some good players, some powerful players who offer a threat in transition.

"They may well be relatively direct in the first phase so they'll be a tough nut to crack.

"If you look at their season, very few teams have taken them to task and picked them apart; caused them all sorts of problems. I think the last time they conceded three was last August, and I think you would argue that they have strengthened since then with what they did in the January window.

"They've found a good rhythm and have a good understanding of what they do.

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"It's a challenge but probably not a great deal different to some of the ones we've had recently.

"We know the test that's coming and it's not going to be an easy one, but equally we've got confidence and belief in what we're trying to do which is to go out and win the game."

Sunderland then face a challenging fixture at Plymouth Argyle two days later and while that test will be in Neil's thinking, he insists that he cannot afford to look too far beyond the threat that Shrewsbury pose to his play-off ambitions.

"I try to avoid being too smart by planning too far ahead," Neil said.

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"Shrewsbury is going to be a difficult task and something that we need to put all of our energy into first and foremost.

"In the back of my mind there's always going to be that thought of what's coming next and that happens whenever you're going Saturday-Tuesday for instance, because you need to manage your squad properly.

"But that's absolutely not for the players, their sole focus will be on Shrewsbury and Plymouth won't even be mentioned [before Friday’s game].

"For me, it might be that some players are more specifically suited to certain opponents, so that might be something that I look at going into the game."