Jack Ross has insisted Sunderland will go to Portsmouth and try to win the second leg of their playoff semi-final tie, instead of looking to protect their narrow lead from the first leg clash.
The Black Cats hold a slender 1-0 advantage over Portsmouth in the League One playoff semi-final following their win during the first leg at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.
Chris Maguire scored the decisive goal of the game after coming off the bench, but Sunderland still have plenty of work left to do during the return leg away from home on Thursday.
And ahead of their crucial second leg clash at Fratton Park, Ross has insisted Sunderland will try and take the game to Pompey on Thursday in a bid to win the game.
The Sunderland boss stressed that his team will not adopt a defensive approach and play to protect their narrow lead over Pompey during the meeting between the sides on Thursday.
“No [we won’t go to Portsmouth and try to keep things tight at the back to protect our narrow lead], I think we’ll go there to win the game”, Ross told a press conference.
“Winning the game gets us to Wembley and I don’t think as a team we need to go there and defend.
“We’re going to have to defend during a phase of the game, we would always, but it’s about going there to try and win the match on Thursday evening.”
Sunderland will face either Charlton Athletic or Doncaster Rovers in the League One playoff final at Wembley, if they beat Portsmouth on Thursday.
