GUS POYET admits the next two matches will play a pivotal role in determining Sunderland’s relegation fate, and concedes the pressing need for a pair of positive results means any talk of stylistic niceties will have to be shelved.

Sunderland travel to the KC Stadium tonight to take on a Hull City side who are one place above them in the table, before hosting 19th-placed Aston Villa in their next game at the Stadium of Light a week on Saturday.

Their preparations for this evening's game were rocked by Adam Johnson's arrest yesterday for allegations of sexual activity with a 15-year-old, and the winger will not be involved following Sunderland's decision to suspend him until the police have completed their investigations.

By the time they have played their next two matches, the Black Cats could find themselves nestled in the safety of mid-table or scrambling for survival in the bottom three, and with games against Arsenal, Southampton and Chelsea still to come before the end of the season, it is imperative they take at least something from the sides around them.

Yesterday’s overturning of Wes Brown’s red card from last weekend’s defeat at Manchester United provided a timely boost and means the experienced centre-half is available for tonight’s game, and Poyet is not about to downplay the importance of a fixture that could have serious ramifications for both of the teams involved.

“I think the next two games will determine what is going to happen at the end of the season,” said Poyet, whose only injury absentees are Will Buckley and Emanuele Giaccherini. “It’s up to us to win both of them because that will put some space between us and the bottom three.

“You can’t always rely on the other results going for you, sometimes you have to do the job yourself and we are at that time.

“I’m old-fashioned, and I always look at 40 points to be safe. Lately, for some reason, you haven’t even needed 35. Is that because it’s more difficult to win football games and there’s too many draws, or is it maybe because there is more difference between the top teams and the ones at the bottom?

“I think it’s a bit of everything, but the most important thing is that, mathematically, you want to be safe as soon as you possibly can. Right now, it’s about getting wins, and the next two games would be very important ones.”

The last few months have been dominated by discussions over Sunderland’s tactical approach and the dislocation between what Poyet would like to see his players doing and the approach he perceives to be demanded by a section of the club’s fans.

Ideally, the Uruguayan head coach would like to see his side adopt a slick, possession-based passing style that remains unaltered whatever the opposition or the situation in which the Black Cats find themselves.

However, with just three points separating Sunderland from the relegation zone, and memories of last season’s dramatic last-gasp escape still strong, he concedes that any discussion over tactics or style pales into insignificance when posited against the pressing need for a couple of positive results.

“To play a certain kind of football, you need to play with your heart, but also be calm,” he said. “There is a tension, but at the same time on the ball you need to relax. But I don’t think there will be too much relaxing now.

“It’s a different kind of game now, and I think we did it a lot in the first half against Burnley. We tried our nuts off against West Brom, and I think in this game, it will have to be similar.

“We need to get something, somehow. It’s not about beautiful football any more, it’s just about making sure you beat your rival. When they are in front of you, you need to be better than they are.”

If Sunderland are to record their first Premier League away win since December tonight, they will have to rectify a dreadful recent record against Hull.

Poyet has suffered four successive defeats against Steve Bruce’s side, with those matches featuring three sending offs and an own goal as well as a costly capitulation in the quarter-finals of last season’s FA Cup.

“It needs to change sooner or later, and I don’t want to wait any more,” he said. “It’s been frustrating against Hull. My first game against them was incredible with the two sending offs and the two changes at half-time because we played the second half with nine men.

“Then there was the sending off of Wes after one minute, then the mistakes in the cup over there, and then the crazy bounce for the goal this season. I want a couple of deflected shots, a couple of offside goals to go for us and a couple of penalty decisions from the referee.”

At least Sunderland will be able to select Brown tonight after the FA’s disciplinary panel overruled referee Roger East and rescinded last weekend’s red card for an incident with Radamel Falcao that appeared to implicate John O’Shea rather than his defensive team-mate.

“In a very important game, we need Wes,” said Poyet. “We’re very pleased because everything went smoothly. The rules might not always be very clear, but we try to understand them. This one was very clear, so I’m pleased that everything finished well.”

Sunderland: Pantilimon; Reveillere, Brown, O’Shea, van Aanholt; Cattermole; Alvarez, Larsson Gomez, Wickham; Defoe.