Well let's get the cliches out of the way – Fratton Park is never an easy place to go; Portsmouth will be a tough test; They will be up for the game etc.

No disrespect, but as far as we are concerned it's not about Pompey tonight – it's about us.

Which Sunderland side will turn up down on the South East coast this evening?

Will our superstars have spent Saturday afternoon lounging in front of the TV as the results came in, thinking maybe, just maybe, we will be all right?

Or will they realise that tonight they can secure the club's top-flight status (maybe their own futures at the club), and give their beleagured fans something to cheer about?

Well, we'll know the answers to all those questions come the final whistle this evening.

I have to admit having spent a nervous weekend glued to the box and the radio waiting anxiously to hear how others had got on. This is what it has come to.

Not for me a leisurely day at the Riverside watching England battle it out with the West Indies.

Nor did I choose the option to don the whites myself for my local cricket team.

Instead, I locked myself away from the rest of the world, armed myself with the remote controls for the TV and the radio, bit my fingernails, and waited, hoping everything would be OK.

And when the final whistle went on the weekend's football came, it was time to contemplate just what it meant for us.

To put it simply, West Bromwich Albion are down, Middlesbrough can't catch us, so it's just down to Hull City, Newcastle and us.

I suppose things could have gone better, but they also could have been far worse.

To be honest I'm not sure what is worrying me more ahead of tonight's encounter – the fact that we are still not clear of danger, or the fact that we can be masters of our own destiny.

You'd think I'd be happy that we can claw ourselves clear of the drop zone.

Maybe I should be, but I've seen Sunderland shoot themselves in the foot far too many times in the past to start counting my chickens.

Of course, should we win this evening (please) then I will happily apologise for my lack of faith.

There are those who would happily accept a draw tonight (I suppose it's better than nothing), and that might turn out to be enough.

But I think we would all sleep a lot easier in our beds if we didn't have to go into the last game fearing for our Premier League lives.

And also it would mean that I didn't have to sit in the Stadium of Light Press Box for the game against Chelsea next week with a mini-radio strapped to either ear.

Let's hope it doesn't come to that.