SUNDERLAND owner Ellis Short has given Gus Poyet some strict instructions about his treatment of the FA Cup this season – ‘Give it your best shot and get us back to Wembley’.

While Newcastle United’s board have made no attempt to hide their disdain for the cup competitions, publicly stating that they are “not a priority”, Short’s attitude could hardly be more different.

The American regards last year’s Capital Cup One final appearance as one of the highlights of his Wearside reign, and while avoiding relegation is clearly of huge importance in the final four months of the season, there will be no directive to sacrifice an FA Cup run in order to achieve it.

Poyet will be forced to make changes for this afternoon’s fourth-round tie with Fulham, with Wes Brown, Lee Cattermole and Adam Johnson unavailable because of injury, but Jermain Defoe will make his second start in Sunderland colours and the starting line-up will be as strong as possible.

The whole of Sunderland’s coaching staff are determined to make the FA Cup a leading priority, partly out of respect for the competition, but also because it is regarded as a genuine opportunity for silverware given that only five more wins are needed to lift the trophy.

“You have to be realistic,” said assistant manager Charlie Oatway. “Let’s be honest, the chances of us winning the league are pretty slim. So for us, the cups give us a good possibility of achieving something.

“As a club and as a football fan myself, you have to be realistic about what you can achieve. It is realistic to think we could put together three or four wins and then suddenly you are in a good cup run and not far from the final.

“There is a chance of really growing into the competition and getting the fans excited about that. Quite rightly, they feel there is an opportunity here. It is common sense for me and I really do not understand when other clubs take the attitude of sending out weakened sides.”

With Sunderland currently just a point above the relegation zone, there is an ongoing debate about whether an extended FA Cup run would be a help or hindrance in terms of the club’s league form.

Last season, the club’s passage through the latter stages of the Capital One Cup coincided with an improved spell of form in January and February that ultimately played a crucial role in keeping the Black Cats in the top-flight.

The club’s form dipped in the immediate aftermath of their Wembley defeat to Manchester City, but with the FA Cup final having been restored to its former slot as the final game of the domestic season, that would not be a factor if Sunderland were to book a return trip to the home of English football in May.

Newcastle’s board produced a series of figures they claimed proved a correlation between a lengthy FA Cup run and an increased chance of the drop, but recent evidence hardly corroborates that theory with only Wigan Athletic of the last 34 finalists having suffered relegation in the same season as their appearance in the Wembley showpiece.

“There is no book on the subject, and personally I do not really know (whether a cup run is a help or distraction),” said Oatway. “But because I love the Cup I would say it is a help.

“Maybe if you are in Europe, or with a lot of games, you might say it will hurt your season, but for me, the more games the better.”

If Sunderland are to continue progressing, they will have to see off a Fulham side who have improved markedly since Kit Symons replaced Felix Magath in charge at Craven Cottage.

The Championship club have recorded back-to-back wins over Reading and Nottingham Forest this week – striker Ross McCormack scored a hat-trick in the latter game – and retain the likes of Scott Parker, Alex Kacaniklic, Hugo Rodallega and Bryan Ruiz from their time in the top-flight.

They will travel to the North-East hoping to cause an upset, but will have to overcome a team led by a coach who boasts an impressive pedigree when it comes to leading a Championship team to victory over top-flight opponents.

During his time at Brighton, Poyet led the Seagulls to successive FA Cup wins over Newcastle as well as a League Cup victory over Sunderland.

“It’s ironic, but if you’re looking for someone to lead a Championship side to put a Premier League side out, Gus is probably your man,” said Oatway. “It’s just good he’s on our side!

“We managed to knock out a few big clubs while we were at Brighton and they were fantastic times. But now we are the Premier League club and teams will be coming here to try to do the same to us.”