Sunderland coach Dick Advocaat does not care what relegation rivals Newcastle United, Leicester City, Aston Villa and Hull City do as the quintet attempt to dig themselves out of trouble.
The current Premier League table suggests those five clubs will be battling over the remaining weeks of the season to avoid being the team that joins Burnley and Queens Park Rangers — who are in even greater danger — in next season’s Championship.
Sunderland are in the bottom three, but just a point behind Hull and Leicester — who visit the Stadium of Light next weekend — and two shy of Newcastle and Aston Villa.
But Advocaat, whose side have a game in hand on the others — albeit away at Arsenal ahead of a final day trip to Chelsea — has challenged his players to keep their fate in their own hands as they head to Everton on Saturday.
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The 67-year-old Dutchman said: “I don’t care at all. I only care about our club.
“I don’t care about Newcastle or Hull or whatever. We have to do it by ourselves and not look too much to other teams. We have to do it on the pitch and show them what we want.
“That’s the most important thing — but everybody is counting only the first two games.
“They are important, but we still have two games to play against Arsenal and Chelsea as well. Everybody is counting those already as nothing, and I don’t see why.”
Newcastle are the team in the worst form of those in the relegation mire, having lost their past eight games, but coach John Carver echoed the view of Advocaat that he wanted his players to ensure they keep their destiny in their own hands.
They face West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, looking for their first league points since February 28.
“We’re in a position where we can affect what happens,” Carver said.
“It’s in our hands. We’re not in the bottom three as it stands.
“I can’t afford — and neither can the players — to worry about what everybody else is doing. I didn’t even watch Hull’s game against Arsenal the other night because I can’t affect that.
“I’m going to put all my energy and effort into affecting what I can try to affect. That is this football team for the next three weeks.”
Burnley will be relegated if they do not win at fellow relegation strugglers Hull today.
Meanwhile Leicester, the form team in the league with five wins from their past six games, entertain Southampton, while Aston Villa host mid-table West Ham United.
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