Portsmouth won’t be able to live with us if we’re on it, vows Sunderland man

The Sunderland man is confident his team will have too much for Kenny Jackett’s men in their play-off return if they get their preparations right..

O’Nien believes the Black Cats’ experience of Fratton Park will hold them in good stead for the critical showdown, after the 3-1 loss in December.

And they are motivated to end the Blues’ season and gain revenge for the Checkatrade Trophy loss at Wembley in March.

O’Nien told the official Sunderland website: ‘I am very positive going into the second leg.

‘The way we set ourselves up for the first leg puts us in a very good position.

‘There’s still a lot of work to do, although we have a 1-0 lead going to Fratton Park.

‘We have had a good couple of days of training and the boys are in good spirits.

‘We have been down there before, and we know what it is like.

‘We have experienced their stadium and their fans, so we will be hoping to put in a professional job and hopefully keep our lead.

‘They are a good team and we have played them lots of times this season, so we know what they are about.

‘We are going to have to make sure that we are on it and I am sure if we do this, they won’t be able to handle us.

‘The quality that we have in our team is massive and we have done our homework on them but we have to focus on ourselves so that we can do our job properly and hopefully that is enough to come away with a win.

‘It is our ambition to get back to Wembley and put things right after our last game (the Checkatrade Trophy final) and make sure we are on the end of the right result this time.’