IN all likelihood, Sunderland's slim hopes of a top six finish disappeared with the defeat to Sheffield United in midweek - but that doesn't mean the Black Cats have nothing to play for in the remaining nine games of the season.

Mowbray is desperate to finish as high as possible to round off what has been an impressive first season back in the Championship and help to set the foundations to hopefully improve next term.

The run-in is an opportunity for Sunderland's players to prove to Mowbray they should be part of his plans for next season.

And regardless of whether or not there's a top six finish up for grabs, that shouldn't have any impact on the motivation of the players in the remaining games, starting with the visit of Luton today. Not if the message Mowbray has been trying to hammer home to his squad all season has got through.

That message is to cherish every moment of every game and to make sure they finish their careers - be it two or a dozen years down the line - with no regrets.

"I spend a lot of time talking about football careers to them," said Mowbray.

"Only because here I am, my football career is gone and theirs will be gone before they can bat an eyelid really. And they have to enjoy it. They have to express themselves and play with emotion and passion and show the world what they can do and what they bring otherwise it will be gone and they'll have regrets.

"These occasions and matches, they should be huge events in their lives. That's why I try to get out of them every ounce of what they've got, not just in talent but in blood and sweat and work-rate, because this is their football career and they should maximise it. And if they've got enough talent they'll get to the Premier League, and if they can spend five or six years in the Premier League, they'll probably never have to work again after football.

"Young minds are difficult to take down the right path. I'm trying to guide them down a pathway. Nothing comes easy for anybody in any profession. You have to work hard and be committed, you have to focus. The more of them I can connect with and try to explain what they have to do to be a footballer, the more of them who buy into it and come on the journey, the better chance we'll have of having a really good team."

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Mowbray continued: "I've been down the road and been on the journey. I maximised my career, I think.

"I was just a big lad who could head it. I was from a steel town where my dad was a scaffolder.

"Not everyone is like that. Some of our team are from a more privileged background and have never had to fight and scrap.

"I was miles away from being anywhere near to being the best youth team player in Middlesbrough when I grew up, and yet I feel what got me there was my drive to train every day.

"I didn't used to get in the coach's car, I used to run two and a half miles to training every day, just to build my stamina, and run back after collecting the balls, just because I knew it would make me better.

"That's just one example. You have to live the life if you want the rewards. I'm just trying to get inside the mind of our players."