00:00Sunderland have had an incredible season so far.
00:04Their great run at the start of the season and then again towards the end of the season
00:10ensured that they end the campaign with a chance to qualify for European football.
00:17A big part of their success has been captain Granit Xhaka, who recently won Sunderland's Player of the Year.
00:24The former Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen midfielder quickly became a fan favourite in the North East
00:31and has helped propel his side towards the top half of the table
00:36and have battled the very best at the Stadium of Light
00:40and now are in a position to potentially get European football.
00:44Here's what Sunderland manager Reggie Labrie had to say about Sunderland's season so far.
00:49Yeah, it's on but it's not done.
00:51So the most important from the previous experiences is to say focus on our standards
00:57because when we start dreaming, probably it's a distraction
01:01and we had this experience at home a few weeks ago.
01:05It was painful and the opponent will have at Stadium of Light next week will be strong.
01:12So we'll have to be at our best and to do that, we need to train properly
01:17and I hope with our fans we'll have the power, the energy to give our best.
01:22At the minute it's not on, so if it's the case at the end of the game we'll have this
01:26conversation.
01:28Before, it's about a really good season.
01:33We hit this 40-point target early, we are able to keep the consistency after,
01:40even if maybe it could have been a bit inconsistent or complacent event.
01:49So the team showed that they were still ambitious and we played good football.
01:55Now we have an opportunity to play a very good game, an exciting fixture at home and we'll see.
02:01Hello, your side has won 22 points from losing positions this season,
02:06which is the most of any side in the Premier League.
02:08Where's that resilience come from and has it surprised you?
02:12Because we maybe associate newly approached clubs with feeling maybe sorry for themselves in games,
02:18but it's the opposite that's happened.
02:21The team doesn't lose its head, never.
02:27They stay always connected, which is really good for, I think, many reasons.
02:31Probably the first is the character of the players.
02:35They are sometimes emotional, but they have strong personalities and character.
02:40And after that, we trust the way we play as well.
02:43We feel that we can control the game.
02:46You can consider a goal, it's possible, because football is sometimes unpredictable
02:49and the opponent can do well as well to create something.
02:53But over 100 minutes now, more or less, you still have time to come back.
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