Max Power has sent a stern message to his teammates regarding Sunderland's patchy form.
The Black Cats have won just twice in seven matches since Phil Parkinson replaced Jack Ross as manager.
That run of form has left the Wearsiders sitting outside of the League One play-off places and eight points away from the automatic promotion spots.
Next up for Sunderland is an EFL Trophy clash with Scunthorpe on Tuesday evening, and while it's not the bread and butter of the league, it's a game that could change the momentum in the Black Cats' camp.
Pressure is starting to build around the Stadium Of Light as supporters urge their team to quickly find their feet, and the midfielder has said that it's essential that the team don't drop their standards.
Power has been a first team regular this season having made 16 appearances already, but is far from happy at what he's seen of late.
Speaking to Sunderland's official website, he said: “We have got to get back to winning games.
"The performance levels have been okay, we know we can improve, and we don’t want to creep into a mentality of accepting draws and defeats.
“We have got too get that winning mentality back and it comes with hard work, believing in what we are doing and sticking together.
“I know it’s all cliché stuff but it is really true.
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“It’s tough and disappointing when you come away from today and we haven’t performed as well as we know we can.
“We didn’t win enough battles over the pitch and credit to Gillingham we couldn’t quite deal with it.”
The verdict
While Max Power's comments are a typical rallying cry ahead of another fixture, he does make an important point.
With Sunderland struggling to put wins on the board, it's entirely possible that the players could drop their high standards to a mindset where avoiding defeats and picking up difficult points is deemed to be a success.
The Black Cats needs to be winning games if they're to achieve their sole aim of securing promotion to the Championship, and to do so it's imperative that the players enter every game with a winning mentality.