CHRIS COLEMAN HAS SPOKEN - Sunderland need the fans behind them on Monday; will you be there?

Chris Coleman made it clear in the wake of last night’s raucous victory over Derby County that his side simply cannot survive without the support of the fans behind them.

Whilst yesterday’s result was a fantastic one, we can’t dwell on it too much and must ensure that we carry the momentum we’ve gained on the back of the win into Monday’s game with Sheffield Wednesday.

Coleman has admitted that whilst his side have most certainly let down the fans one too many times, they desperately need a bolstered crowd for what is undoubtedly the biggest game we’ve faced so far this season.

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In an interview with SAFC.com, Coleman said:

We’re gunna need all the support we can get. If anybody is watching at home who haven’t been to see us, I don’t blame them, but we’re gunna need them Monday night.

We’re gunna need everybody Monday night and we’ve got to make sure we just leave everything on the pitch, try and get another three points and put pressure on everybody above us.

He added:

I can’t tell you how important Monday is. I’m not putting any extra pressure on us, the players, it is what it is the pressure’s there, I just need all our supporters just to - just this one game - just to come with us and we’ll try not to disappoint them, try to make them happy like we did tonight.

Whilst attendances this season have still been some of the highest in the country - remarkable considering our horrendous home form and perilous league position - attendance figures have dropped dramatically since we departed the Premier League, and understandably so.

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However, the manager is right - the Sunderland supporters MUST help to do their part on Monday, and on a bank holiday it’s a fantastic opportunity for disenfranchised supporters to get themselves along and help contribute towards creating an atmosphere that can help to get us the three points we need to put ourselves right back in the race against relegation.

Coleman continued:

I’ve been here four months and it’s been hard, really tough times, and I’ve seen what support we’ve got - I hang onto getting in turned around, getting it moving in the right direction and I can’t wait to see what it’s like then, cos at the minute it’s tough and they’re still here. TERRIBLE night here in Derby and how many supporters did we bring across?! Absolutely magnificent, they deserve it.

We need them, we won’t do it without them we really won’t, and God knows we’ve disappointed them enough. And at home we’re nervous and shaky, and we absolutely can’t be that on Monday night. Come what may - I dunno what the result may be - I just know we’ve got to have our sleeves rolled up and we’ve got to have a fight on Monday night, a tear up with Sheffield Wednesday, and I hope the support will be there for us.

Tickets for Monday’s game are priced at £25 for adults, £19 for over 65s, £16 for under 22s and £10 for kids. Most of us have the day off work and whilst the team have done very little to warrant your support in recent years we have to remember that we can play such a massive part should we choose to do so.

Please, if you can, get yourself along to the Stadium on Monday. As the manager quite rightly says, they cannot do this without us. The more seats that are filled the better - and who knows, we might just pick up the result we need to ensure we don’t go down without a fight.