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Gus Poyet has banned all talk from his players about Wembley to try and ensure their minds are fully focused on the task of securing Premier League survival.
The Ururguayan believes that poor league form between now and the March 2nd final can only serve to 'spoil' the occasion anyway, so a line has been drawn under it until the week of the game itself.
He told The Mirror:
It would be a shame to have a chance to play in a great game at Wembley and not do our business before that. That would spoilt it. That would be terrible. It would be devastating.
We have tried to sort out everything over the weekend and on Monday - tickets, flights, tracksuits, suits, where we're staying and where we're going. That's it, done. See you later.
There's a Spanish phrase that means stop it, that's enough. Why? Because we don't want it hanging over us.
The players are now aware we don't talk about that any more. I don't walk in the players' dressing room that much so I don't know what they're talking about. I can't follow them and check what they're talking about or put a recorder in there. But it was important we made that decision.
He is right, of course. He couldn't be any more right on this issue. He has nailed it. There is every reason for Sunderland fans and players to be feeling optimistic at the moment, and it is a feeling that must be channelled into positive results, but the league campaign comes first.
Going to Wembley will be special regardless, but going without any piercing stresses from the league would be even more so. Please don't be all Sunderland-y and mess stuff up.
