'Keep pushing' - Sunderland star wants Black Cats to be relentless in play-off race

Jack Clarke has challenged Sunderland to ‘keep pushing’ as they attempt to win a third consecutive game in the Championship this weekend.

Sunderland have had a fine week, beating Reading 1-0 at the Stadium of Light before hammering QPR 3-0 at Loftus Road.

Clarke was pivotal in the win at QPR, scoring two second half goals in front of the Sunderland supporters.

They took his seasonal tally to eight goals and seven assists in all competitions ahead of the visit of Bristol Rovers this on Saturday.

The Robins are in fine form themselves. A 1-1 draw at home to Wigan on Wednesday extended their unbeaten run to ten games in all competitions, so Clarke knows Sunderland can’t afford to take their foot off the accelerator.

“We just take each game as it comes to be honest and try to pick up as many points as we can,” Clarke said.

“Obviously we've got two wins in a row now and we'd like to keep pushing forward and take it into Saturday.

“They’re all big games at the moment, especially if we’re trying to achieve what we set out to achieve at the start of the season.

“We need to keep picking up as many points as possible and we know Bristol is not going to be an easy game but we’ll recover, rest and be ready to go again on Saturday.”

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