LUKE O’NIEN insists Sunderland’s players have not given up hope of forcing their way into the play-offs in the remaining eight matches of the Championship season.

The Black Cats will resume after the international break sitting in 11th position in the Championship table, seven points adrift of the current top six.

Their first game back could hardly be tougher, as they head to Turf Moor to take on runaway leaders Burnley, and their run-in also features tricky encounters against promotion-hopefuls West Brom and Watford.

The bookmakers make Sunderland 25-1 shots to force their way back into the top six, but O’Nien is adamant he and his team-mates still regard the play-offs as a realistic ambition.

“Each game in isolation has been very good, so there’s no reason why we can’t go on and get lots more points,” said O’Nien, whose versatility has once again been in evidence as he has slotted in at left-back in the last few games. “We want to finish as high as possible, and I’d be lying if I said we still haven’t got eyes on the play-offs. You play games to win, and we want to get in the play-offs and we want to get promoted.

“It will be tough, but the boys have still got eyes there and we’ll break that down further and take each game in isolation and do our homework. If we win, we’ll continue doing the good things and if we lose, we’ll learn and continue to do the good things and see where that takes us.”

With Sunderland’s recruitment team having assembled an extremely youthful squad, O’Nien has found himself taking on much more of a leadership role within the dressing room this season.

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Along with the likes of Danny Batth, Corry Evans and Alex Pritchard, O’Nien has helped coax some of the squad’s younger performers through the ups and down that are an inevitable part of their development.

“It’s easier when you get older because you get better at learning and get better with your judgement,” said the 28-year-old. “It’s hard for younger players, and that’s why it’s important for us senior players to take them through the process.

“It’s something I didn’t learn about for a while. Go and make mistakes. Do you know why? Because it makes you a better player. Look at Dan Neil. He’s made a few mistakes and look at the player he’s turned into. He is one of the first names on the team sheet. I forget sometimes I’m a senior player because I still feel quite young.”

Having been part of the side that won promotion from League One last season, O’Nien is able to take pride in the strides that have been made in the last 12 months.

“I think the team is in a really good position,” he said.