Max Power reveals why Sunderland WILL take the cup competitions seriously this season

The Black Cats travel to Burnley this evening eyeing a fifth straight win in all competitions.

Jack Ross is set to ring the changes at Turf Moor ahead of an important clash with Peterborough on Saturday, but midfielder Power insists the squad will still be heading to the North West with their eyes fixed on progression.

After a run to the EFL Trophy final last season somewhat derailed Sunderland’s promotion push last term, some fans felt the club should turn their back on the cup competitions this season.

But Power claims that is a view not shared by the dressing room.

“People will have different opinions on cup runs, on whether they find the game important or not,” he said.

“But as players and staff you want to win every game you go in to, so we’ll be going to Burnley to win the game.

“We know what the priority is this season, there’s no getting away from that.

“But I don’t buy into ‘we don’t want cup runs’ or things like that, because you want to win every game you go in to.

“If we go and pull off a result at Burnley then the confidence will only grow, and you go in to Peterborough on the back of five wins on the bounce.

“That’s what we want to strive for. When you’re winning games, everyone is happy and everyone is in a good mood.”

And Power is no stranger to the positive benefits a cup run can yield - having played his part in a fair share of giant-killings.

“We beat Man City - I don’t know if I ever mention that one!“We had a really good FA Cup run at Wigan. We beat Bournemouth, West Ham, Man City and then we played Southampton in the quarter final.

“Out of all the ties, we probably played the best against Southampton and lost the game.

“But as players, testing yourself against top players is what you enjoy doing.”