Sunday 1 February 2015 13:51, UK
Sunderland head coach Gus Poyet has challenged his players to make Saturday's Premier League showdown with Burnley the turning point in their season.
The Uruguayan was left with more questions than answers after seeing his team scrap out a 0-0 FA Cup fourth-round draw with Championship side Fulham in front of an unimpressed home crowd on Saturday.
A replay on February 3 will give the Black Cats a second chance to progress in a competition which added Manchester City and Chelsea to the list of top-flight casualties on a dramatic afternoon, but a Premier League tussle with fellow strugglers Burnley next weekend represents a far more pivotal occasion.
Sunderland currently sit in 16th place with 20 points - ahead of Burnley in 17th only on goal difference.
Poyet, who is still working on a new 3-5-2 system to accommodate Jermain Defoe in a two-man frontline, said: "There are moments in the season where you have turning points, and the Burnley game is one of them, so it's an important week for us.
"The idea now is to first analyse the two games, Tottenham and this one, check really well if it's the way we want to go forward, train with it, play first and foremost Burnley and win. We need to win."
Poyet might hope for home comforts but since they beat Manchester City 1-0 in November, Sunderland have won only four of the 25 league games they have played at the Stadium of Light since and collected just 22 of the 75 points on offer.
