Lee Cattermole has told his Sunderland team-mates to forget their FA Cup heartache and ensure they end the season in the top half of the Barclays Premier League.
The Black Cats' hopes of reaching the semi-finals for the first time since 2004 were left in tatters as Everton took the Stadium of Light by storm to ease their way to a 2-0 quarter-final replay victory.
However, Cattermole is adamant that there is still much to play for during the remaining eight games of the campaign to cement all the good work they have done since the arrival of new manager Martin O'Neill in December. The 24-year-old skipper said: "We have got to just focus now on the rest of the season. We have got six or seven big weeks."
He added: "Three or four months ago, if you had said we could finish in the top half of the league, everyone would have grabbed it with both hands.
"So we have got to try to look at the positives now and build on what we have done so far.
"This season, we have had a decent run and got a little taste for it.
"We might have got to Wembley and everyone has got their teeth into it a bit and next year, we will aim to hopefully go one step further."
Source: PA
