Gus Poyet wants Premier League focus

Gus Poyet had told his Sunderland players that they must put the impending Capital One Cup final out of their minds and focus on Premier League survival.

The Black Cats are 19th in the league table, one point behind Fulham who sit just outside the relegation zone.

Poyet, whose side face Stoke City on Wednesday at the Stadium of Light, believes that it is important to forget about the trip to Wembley and has revealed that the logistics for the match against Manchester City have already been completed.

"We did something specific regarding the final. We have tried to sort out everything over the weekend and on Monday - tickets arrangements, flights, tracksuits, suits, where we are staying and where we are going," he is quoted as saying by the Daily Star.

"We have dealt with the situation as quickly as possible and now we feel that everyone is talking about the Stoke game which is the most important for us.

"I don't walk in the players' dressing room too much during the week so I don't really know what they are talking about. But I am expecting them to have the same attitude as me because it would be a shame not to do our business before playing in a great game at Wembley."

Following the home match with Stoke, Sunderland travel to Newcastle United for the Tyne-Wear derby.