WITH the League One finishing line “now in view”, Jack Ross has pledged to keep his squad rotation to an absolute minimum in the remaining 12 games of the season.

While Sunderland’s supporters might be focusing their attention on securing a ticket for the Checkatrade Trophy final, Ross has instructed his players to forget about their day out at Wembley for now in order to focus their undivided attention on the denouement of the promotion race.

The Black Cats head to Wycombe Wanderers tomorrow hoping to overhaul the two-point gap that currently separates them from second-placed Barnsley, who they face on Tuesday.

With two crucial away games in the space of four days, Ross could be forgiven for wanting to spread his resources, especially as he named a full-strength side for this Tuesday’s Checkatrade semi-final at Bristol Rovers.

However, while he admits there have been times this season when he has tailored his team selection to the demands of a future fixture, he will not be adopting that policy for the remainder of the campaign. Instead, it will be a case of sticking with his strongest side in an attempt to maintain the momentum that has been generated since the turn of the year.

“Earlier in the season, you maybe look at rotating things,” said Ross, who expects George Honeyman to be available for the trip to Adams Park despite the Sunderland skipper injuring his hip on Tuesday night. “But I think once it gets to the last couple of months of the season, you’re looking for continuity of selection because you want to make sure you’re picking players who are in good form.

“If you liken it to a race of any sorts, then the finishing line is probably in sight now. You’re into that home stretch of the season and it becomes a little bit of a different mentality. For an athlete, it would be the same. It becomes about getting over the finishing line, one way or another.

“Earlier in the season, it’s a bit about managing yourself through the race, but now we’re into that position where it’s about just making sure we win games. And it’s about picking the strongest team to do that time after time, and not looking at what lies ahead or what number of fixtures we’ve got. Whatever we need to do within that in terms of knocks or fatigue, we’ll do it. But if it’s the same players that want to keep banging about, and they’re in good form, then great.”

Having guided St Mirren to the Scottish Championship title last season, Ross knows all about the importance of keeping a winning run going.

His Sunderland side have not tasted defeat since December, a run that has enabled them to close in on both Barnsley and Luton Town, who currently occupy the automatic-promotion slots.

“Momentum at any stage of the season is important,” said Ross. “Sometimes, it can come at different times, but the mentality that grows from it is vital.

“You can sense it from the players. I know it sounds a bit fanciful, but you can almost touch it at times. You can feel the atmosphere. I suppose, as a manager, it’s a sense of, ‘What do I need to do to make things better or keep things going the same way’.

“I know from speaking to the players individually and as a group, they’ve got the bit between their teeth. They’re in a good place, and I think they’re looking forward to these next couple of months. They know it’s not going to be easy, but I think they’re looking forward to each and every game at the moment.”

At this stage of the season, it is a case of the less disruption, the better, but Sunderland could find themselves having to reorganise yet another fixture because of international call-ups.

The away game at Fleetwood on March 23 falls in the middle of the next international break, and Sunderland can seek a postponement if they have three or more players on international duty.

Aiden McGeady and Jimmy Dunne were yesterday named in the provisional Republic of Ireland squad to face Gibraltar and Georgia, and there is a good chance of Will Grigg, Jon McLaughlin, Tom Flanagan or Lynden Gooch also being selected by their respective countries.

“We’ll have to see what happens,” said Ross. “We’ve got the Burton game now that’s had to be rearranged, and if you add in Accrington and the events around that match, we’ve had a lot of challenges in that respect.

“I can’t complain about the Burton game because it comes as a result of us being successful in another competition, and to a degree, the international call-ups are a reflection of individual players doing well also.

“It’s something we’re aware of. We quite often have a number of players being considered for selection. I suppose the frustrating thing from a club manager’s point of view is that maybe the confirmation of selection could be done earlier, that would be helpful. Then you would know exactly where you were at and you’d be able to make a decision with clarity.

“At the moment, we’ve got a moment of important players who are being considered for selection by their countries, so we have to make a sensible decision on that.”

McGeady’s return to the international fold is especially notable, with the 32-year-old currently sitting on 92 caps. His last appearance for Ireland came in a 5-1 defeat to Denmark in November 2017, but former Sunderland boss Mick McCarthy appears keen to restore him to the set-up following his appointment as the successor to Martin O’Neill.

“He maybe won’t pay too much attention until it’s confirmed as the actual squad, but it’s just a reflection of his performances,” said Ross. “He’s consistently been very good. You can forget about the league he’s playing in or whatever, he’s had to be good all season.

“People don’t make it easy for him because he’s viewed as a big scalp in this league. If he ends being selected and ends up playing then I’ll be delighted for him. He’s on 92 caps at the moment, I would imagine there’s a desire to get to 100. Knowing Aiden, he’s quite driven. I’m sure that will be in his mind.”