'Europe this season? Absolutely possible... dare to dream'

I'm sick of moaning about rotten officiating. It's not just an easy excuse any more – look objectively at our recent matches and it's hard to argue we've not been treated harshly, copping some truly awful decisions.

That said, I thought Sunderland played well at Bournemouth. Had the calls gone our way, we'd have probably won and no-one could have grumbled. A draw felt decent – not many sides will take four points off the Cherries this season, so I'm relatively happy with it.

If nothing else, it snapped us out of the recent slump. We got a determined, battling performance, which shows how well the lads respond when the chips are down. We've missed Granit Xhaka badly and his return hit home most when we didn't have the ball – he was screaming, pointing, organising, getting everyone into a really solid defensive shape.

Young midfielders Noah Sadiki and Habib Diarra looked 10ft taller and played far better than they did without him. Our backline suddenly looked organised again. There's nothing revolutionary here, but Sunderland are a much better side with Xhaka in it.

We're now on 37 points, three shy of that magic 40-point target set early doors – the one we're refusing to look beyond until we hit it. A win at Elland Road would get us there with nine games still to play, and that ought to be motivation enough to really take the game to Leeds, who will fancy their own survival with a couple more victories.

There's been no sign of a struggle all season and I don't see us getting dragged into anything. Still, ticking off that 40-point mark would let us breathe easy and start eyeing new targets.

Europe this season? Absolutely possible, but our away form has to sharpen up. We've had no wins on the road since October – decent draws, but not converting enough is starting to niggle.

Not many teams go to Elland Road, especially under lights, and come away with anything. Doing it on Tuesday would send a hell of a message that Sunderland remain a serious threat. We mustn't fear Leeds. Give them too much respect and we'll lose.

Take a leaf out of Fulham's book from when they visited the Stadium of Light. Make it horrible, silence the crowd, take your chances and win the physical battles. Get the basics right and you've got a real shot.

Late on Tuesday, we might have 40 points secured, dreaming of bigger things as the season winds down.

Go on, dare to dream. You never know what might happen!

Find more from Gavin Henderson at Roker Report