TONY MOWBRAY will not be attempting to rein in his side’s attacking instincts when they take on Luton Town over the course of two legs for a place in the Championship play-off final.

The Sunderland boss threw caution to the wind in the second half of Sunday’s final game of the regular season at Preston, replacing injured full-back Dennis Cirkin with attacking midfielder Alex Pritchard at the half-time interval at Deepdale in an attempt to get more players into the final third.

The ploy paid immediate dividends, with the Black Cats scoring three goals in the space of 11 minutes at the start of the second half to set up a 3-0 win, but the stakes will increase again on Saturday when Luton visit the Stadium of Light for the play-off semi-final first leg.

The Hatters might well arrive on Wearside looking to keep things tight ahead of next Tuesday’s second leg at Kenilworth Road, but having watched Sunderland’s vibrant young forwards rip Championship defences apart throughout the season, Mowbray will not be instructing his players to temper their front-foot approach.

“I say it without any embarrassment to the team – ‘Get the ball to Pat, Get the ball to Amad. Give them the ball’,” said Mowbray. “It's not because they're better, it's because that's what they do.

“‘They can't win headers or tackles like you do, they aren't going to bring that organisation - but give them the ball’. What they can do with the ball, you see it every day in training.

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“The biggest challenge is to make them play serious football, because sometimes it’s almost like being in the playground. It’s about having that focus, because if you have too many touches, that guy is going to kick you. That's the balance for us, but when you can get them in that focus and they are looking to really damage the opposition, they are seriously talented footballers.”

Amad Diallo led the way at Deepdale, opening the scoring with a wonderful long-range strike, before Pritchard doubled Sunderland’s lead with another slick finish and Jack Clarke rounded off the scoring with a superb curler into the far corner.

With Patrick Roberts also playing a prominent role in the victory thanks to his incisive runs down the right, the Black Cats head into Saturday’s game with all four of their attacking-midfielders in fine form.

Ross Stewart’s long-term absence has left Sunderland without a goalscoring centre-forward for much of the season, but in the Scotsman’s absence, the team’s other attackers have had to come up with alternative ways to score. As a result, Luton find themselves having to deal with a myriad of goalscoring threats rather than just one central striker who needs those around him to play in a specific way.

“I knew all about Patrick before I came here,” said Mowbray. “I’d managed against him and studied the Celtic side he played in. He's a genius with the ball, a Premier League talent on the ball.

“We’ve been fortunate that Amad has hit an amazing (run of form). We haven't taught him anything, but how he has incorporated himself into the group and what we do on the pitch has been amazing. He scored a goal out of nothing (at Preston) and it's not the first time.

“And then I also have to mention Jack Clarke because I spent the first 45 minutes (on Sunday) screaming at him to get in the right position and yet when he’s one-on-one, cutting into the box…we’ve got those players.

“We know we are going to need moments of magic from these guys to score against Luton, because they are very tough to break down.”