Sunderland defender Wes Brown has called on his teammates to push on after grabbing a point at the weekend.
The Black Cats, who have had a poor start to the Premier League campaign, saw out a goalless draw against Aston Villa on Saturday.
"We have to be as strong as we can," the Sunderland Echo quotes Brown as saying. "If you don't concede any, then you won't lose and that's always a good starting point.
"It's not just the defence, it's the whole team. We have tried to work on a few things and, to be fair, we could have nicked it. We have had the best chances."
Sunderland are 19th in the Premier League table after 13 games.
