EVEN if there are a growing number of supporters becoming concerned by Sunderland’s stuttering form, defender Jack Baldwin is convinced a positive mental attitude can help achieve the club’s goals this season.

The Black Cats recorded a sixth draw from nine unbeaten games in League One on Tuesday night and missed out on starting a run of three consecutive home matches with a morale-boosting victory in the promotion race.

While unbeaten at the Stadium of Light this season, Sunderland have now failed to win in seven of those and it is that sort of record – coupled with a failure to score twice in a match since before Christmas – that contributed to a few boos at the half-time and full-time whistle against Blackpool.

Now Sunderland, who have scored in every league game this season and sit four points shy of an automatic promotion spot, know there will be a greater focus on them winning their next two games on Wearside against Accrington and Gillingham.

Jack Ross, the Sunderland manager, strongly defended his team’s position after the draw with the Seasiders, and that has clearly rubbed off on his players, who remain determined.

Baldwin said: “It comes with experience and playing at places like this, which is new for me this year, but you’ve got to try to find the balance between keeping your calm and not letting your passion and your willingness to do well stop you doing your job and take over. That’s got to be there but you have to be calm and collected.

“That’s something I can improve on quite a bit. I get caught up in the moment because I want to do well and you’ve got to find the balance. You’ve got to channel the passion from the stands and if everyone can find a way to use it as a positive, that will drive us forward and with the cutting edge we need.

“The lads have to find a way to channel the frustration you might feel from not converting opportunities or not got going forward with the thrust and energy we need. It’s frustrating for everyone and no one feels it more than us because we’re the ones trying to get the job done. That pressure falls on our shoulders.

“The manager speaks about it – you can let it drown you out or you can put your shoulders back, say ‘I’m ready’ and kick on. It’s important for us we do that and come into Friday’s game with a positive mindset that we can put on a good performance.”

Sunderland created enough chances against Blackpool but wasted them, most notably Will Grigg’s two efforts when he was in front of goal – the second of which was an empty net in the second half.

Baldwin, who headed in the equaliser with quarter of an hour to go to preserve Sunderland’s unbeaten home form, said: “If we keep pushing forward and pinning teams in like we did on Tuesday, the more chances we’re going to create and the more chances these lads get, they’re going to start converting them.

“We’ve got to channel the frustrations and make sure when the next chance comes along you do your best to put it in the net and see teams off.”

He added: “For large parts of that game we were attacking and creating chances, and Griggy rounded the keeper and found the side netting, which was frustrating. That’s football, things aren’t always going to fall the way you want them to. It’s important at times like that we stay positive and take what we can from the game.”

Baldwin is known to be critical of himself after every performance and, despite playing well and scoring, he felt he could have done better to close down Blackpool’s Armand Gnanduillet when he scored in the first half.

But Sunderland were indebted to him climbing in the box with 15 minutes to go and grab his second for the club, to ease some of the growing pressure from the stands.

“You do sense it, yeah, but you’ve got to take it one of two ways,” he said. “It can either be a weight on your shoulders and be browbeaten down or you can put your shoulders back and rise to the challenge we’ve got.

“This is the position we’ve got because we’re lucky enough to be at such a club which can draw 27,000 on a Tuesday night so you take the good with the bad. When you’re winning games the crowd are brilliant and when things aren’t going our way you can sense their frustration but that’s just normal.

“I’m a football fan myself and you do get frustrated but it’s not through lack of effort. Everyone goes out there giving their all for the badge to make sure we can get this club back where it belongs.

“The unbeaten home record probably gets brushed over but that comes with the expectation that we should be winning games week in, week out. When things aren’t going your way you’ve got to make sure you don’t lose games. We’re a point closer to where we want to be.

“You’re going to get the pressure of people expecting us to win but we’ve got to go out there on Friday and make sure we put in a good performance, and that cutting edge is there. We need to finish teams off.”