IT has been billed as a dead rubber, but Jack Ross will be urging his Sunderland players to use tomorrow’s season finale at Southend United to set up a home game in the second leg of their play-off semi-final.

While the Black Cats’ hopes of automatic promotion were extinguished when they lost at Fleetwood Town on Tuesday, they will travel to Roots Hall for their final game of the conventional League One programme knowing they could still finish anywhere between third and fifth.

Finish third or fourth, and Sunderland will play the first leg of their play-off semi-final away from home before returning to the Stadium of Light for a decider. Drop down to fifth, however, and they will start on Wearside before heading elsewhere for their second leg.

Having picked up just two points from their last three matches, Sunderland, who currently occupy fourth position, are level on points with fifth-placed Charlton Athletic. Therefore, the only way they can guarantee a preferred play-off schedule is by winning at Southend, who are one of six teams who could be relegated along with Bradford City tomorrow.

“I don’t know if it’s a huge advantage, but I think all the teams involved in the play-offs would prefer to play the second leg (of the semi-final) at home,” said Ross, who has pledged to avoid wholesale changes when he names his side tomorrow afternoon. “I think everybody has that approach in all knock-out competitions.

“We would prefer that to be the case. It would help in terms of the semi-final, and it would also mean we’ve finished in either third or fourth position. There is a big incentive for us to do that. If we don’t, it won’t be the end of the world and it won’t be the determining factor of what happens in the semi-final. But we would prefer that to be the case.”

With automatic promotion ruled out, Ross has already turned his attention to the play-offs. He held a lengthy debrief with his players in the wake of Tuesday’s defeat at Highbury Stadium, and while he issued some harsh words in the immediate aftermath of his side’s 2-1 loss, he is now keen to draw a line under events at Fleetwood and look to the future.

A number of his players have been involved in previous play-off campaigns – Jon McLaughlin won a play-off final with Bradford City, Charlie Wyke lost a play-off decider with the same team and Grant Leadbitter was in the Middlesbrough side that suffered Wembley heartbreak at the hands of Norwich City – but Ross’ own experiences of play-off football are confined to a coaching spell in the Scottish third tier.

“When I started my coaching career, I was the assistant at Dumbarton and we were promoted via the play-offs,” he said. “The play-off system is slightly different in Scotland, but we finished third and ended up getting promoted via the play-offs.

“So I’ve been involved. It was a slightly different format because it was a two-legged semi-final and a two-legged final, but I do have a bit of play-off experience there.”

He also has a much more recent experience of managing in a big game at Wembley, and while March’s Checkatrade Trophy final might have ended in disappointment, the fact that Sunderland’s players have been to the national stadium already this term should help sharpen their focus on the goal of winning promotion.

While some players heading into the play-offs might be dreaming of a day out at Wembley, the Sunderland squad have already been there, done it and consigned the souvenir T-shirt to the back of their wardrobe. As a result, a return to the Championship will be the only prize that matters once the play-offs begin next weekend.

“In terms of a motivation, what happened in the last game at Wembley will become more of a focus if we get through the semi-final stage,” said Ross. “But with having been there already this season, the players are probably aware of what it all entails without us having to emphasise it. They know how big an occasion the last game was to play in, so they know that’s a prize for getting back there.

“Maybe in some ways, it’s good that the players have already been there this season. The prize for us is very clear, and it’s not about getting the chance to play at Wembley because we’ve already done that. The prize is about getting promoted, not Wembley. We’ve already been there this season – the final could be played anywhere and we’d be quite happy to be involved in it.”

Before Sunderland can devote their full focus to the play-offs, they have to round off their conventional programme with a trip to Southend.

With Southend only outside the relegation zone on goal difference, tomorrow’s game could hardly be more important to the Shrimpers, and Ross has promised the rest of the teams involved in the relegation battle that he will be naming a strong side.

Aiden McGeady will not be risked as Sunderland’s medical staff attempt to give the winger’s ongoing foot problem the best possible opportunity to heal ahead of the play-offs, but Charlie Wyke is set to start after recovering from the dead leg that kept him out of Tuesday’s trip to Fleetwood.

“We had two or three new concerns on the back of Tuesday’s game, as you would expect because there’s a lot of games in April,” said Ross. “We’re hoping Charlie will be back available after missing out on Tuesday, but Aiden will probably miss out again. We’re still trying to give him as much time as possible to be as healthy as he can from his injury.

“We’ve got doubts over a couple, but we’ll see how they are and how they react to what they’ve done in training (yesterday). Then we’ll decide from there. But we’ll have a relatively strong squad that will travel and be ready for Saturday.”