Sunderland boss Jack Ross has told press he's not bothered what the likes of Portsmouth or Luton Town do in the League One promotion race this season.

The Black Cats suffered a wash out this weekend against Accrington Stanley, whilst both of their promotion rivals registered wins.

Portsmouth easily despatched Southend to move clear at the top of the table, whilst Luton moved ahead of Ross' side by one point as their good form continued with a 2-0 win against Fleetwood.

Despite dropping out of the top two, Ross was bullish when it came to discussing their rivals, insisting he wasn't fussed about their results at all.

“As I said on Thursday, the only thing that we can ever affect is what we do,” he told the Sunderland Echo.

“If we can continue to do it in the manner that we have done this season, and the points we’ve gathered in relation to the games, we’ll be OK regardless. It doesn’t bother me too much, it’s about what we do.”

The Black Cats own game with Accrington was called off on 70 minutes with the score poised at 1-1 and a date will now have to be set for that. They're current unbeaten in 16 games, but face FA Cup action tomorrow evening before hosting Bristol Rovers on Saturday.

The Verdict

Ross is right, if his side just keep winning games, they'll have no need to worry about their rivals.

It must hurt though, knowing that despite the good run even a draw at Accrington would have left them level on points with Luton.

There's the small matter of the FA Cup tomorrow, but Ross would surely swap that for three points in the league.