The 26-year-old and his team-mates entertain Champions League challengers Chelsea at the weekend sitting just two points clear of the relegation zone and knowing they have to go to European hopefuls Aston Villa a week later.

A failure to bounce back from Sunday's home defeat by Everton could see the Black Cats slip deep into trouble depending on results elsewhere. However, Whitehead is confident that the spirit within the camp, coupled with a run of fixtures against the sides currently surrounding them, could prove key.

stand up

He said: "It is going to be intense pressure on the players of every team to get three points, which is of major importance at this time of the season.

"We know there is going to be a lot of pressure on us, especially on our home ground. We know we are going to have 40,000 cheering us on and we have to stand up and be counted.

"We have got some good games coming up - we have got Fulham, Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Bolton - we have got all those teams coming up who we know we can beat."