Whitehead staying positive

Sunderland skipper Dean Whitehead is thinking positively ahead of his side's crucial match against Wigan at the Stadium of Light on Saturday. The Black Cats are only four points clear of the drop zone after letting two points slip away when they conceded a late equaliser to Spurs last time.But Whitehead refuses to get down in the dumps over this slip-up and is instead looking towards a top-half finish for his side.A win against Wigan could potentially pull the Wearsiders' seven points clear off the drop zone - a considerable gap given that West Brom, Middlesbrough and Newcastle have only won six times to date, and Portsmouth, Blackburn and Stoke just seven.Whitehead said: "I personally am not looking towards the bottom of the table. We are three points away from eighth, so that's all we are looking at."They (teams below) have got to win two games in the next 10, and some of them have only won six all season, so that's difficult in itself.Freak results"We all know what can happen towards the end of the season, you get some freak results."But we are looking towards the top half of the table."Whitehead is targeting victory over the Latics to put the disappointment of the Spurs game behind the Wearsiders.The 27-year-old midfielder added: "There's always pressure to win games. When the league is as tight as it is, there are rewards for wins and you can be struggling if you lose."Three points at the moment is vital and we were really disappointed that we couldn't edge ourselves towards the safety barrier."We are going into every game at the minute saying, 'This is a big game, this is the biggest game'."After not picking up the three points [against Spurs], it does become slightly more important than it was previously."

Source: SKY_Sports