Sunderland head into back-to-back home games with boss Tony Mowbray determined to improve on an area that has hampered his side this season. The Black Cats record on the road has been significantly better than that on home soil, with their haul of just six wins and 25 points from 20 games at the Stadium of Light ranking sixth-worst in the Championship, while away from home their return of nine wins and 33 points from 21 games is the fifth-best in the division.
Despite that home record, Sunderland have still managed to mount a play-off challenge but Mowbray knows there is plenty of room for improvement with their results on Wearside not reflecting the entertaining, attacking, football they have produced. With three more home games still to play, with Birmingham City next up at the Stadium of Light tomorrow followed by Huddersfield Town on Tuesday night, Sunderland have opportunities to add to their points tally.
"I've said all along, our home record needs to improve," said Mowbray. "I fully agree that our home record is short of where we need it to be.
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"I don't think we've been poor at home, but the results are the results and we have to accept them. There has been plenty of decent play but not enough end product and winning.
"We've won six out of 20 at home, we've found it really difficult at home to win football matches. I haven't looked at the balance between points won at home and away from home, but it feels as if we have won more away from home than at home.
"Winning six out of 20 doesn't sound good, but you add the draws into that and I don't think it feels so bad - it's not a case of winning six and losing 14. I've said it is hard at the Stadium of Light where teams will come and try to quieten the crowd and waste time from early on, and play a lot of men behind the ball because they are so aware that if the stadium comes to life and the team is on the front foot, it can be really difficult for them as visitors."
Sunderland have played much of the season without a specialist centre-forward, with injuries restricting Ross Stewart to just 13 appearances while on-loan Everton frontman Ellis Simms was recalled by the Merseysiders at the beginning of January. And it is that lack of a frontman that Mowbray feels has cost his team at home.
He said: "In my first game [at home against Rotherham United in August], Ross Stewart scored two goals from two Jack Clarke crosses. At home, particularly, it's not about the football and the possession and the areas - they call it field tilt these days, where you actually play most of the match - it's about putting the ball in the net, and I genuinely believe that our home record would have been much better with a centre-forward with a goal record.
"That feels like an excuse, but I don't think it is. At home, particularly, when teams can sit men behind the ball you need to take the chances when they come.
"It's not as if we don't have chances at home, we just need somebody to put the ball in the net because goals change games and if you are scoring, you have a good chance of winning football matches."
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