The Tigers head for Wearside just a point above the bottom three and without a win in their last three games.
But Plymouth were rock bottom and in a wretched run of form when they rocked up at the Stadium of Light last month and stunned Sunderland with a last minute goal to salvage a 2-2 draw.
After the Leeds defeat, Sunderland now trail the automatic promotion places by eight points but they remain 15 points ahead of seventh place and Neil insists they’re still looking up.
And Sunderland won’t, said the midfielder, take anything for granted in the crucial weeks to come.
He said: “We can’t go into these games like the Plymouth game at home. We can’t just turn up and expect to win. Our remaining games are, like I said, cup finals.
After Hull, Sunderland head to Sheffield Wednesday before successive home games against Cardiff and Preston, who are both in the bottom half.
Saturday’s visitors drew with Norwich City last time out and have won just two of their last eight in the Championship.
The Tigers have two former Sunderland loanees in their ranks in Mason Burstow and Joe Gelhardt, and Gelhardt – on loan from Leeds – insists Ruben Selles’ side can take heart from their display last time out against Norwich.
He said: “Everyone’s frustrated. We know we’re a good team, we’re good players, so we want to win games like that where, where we’ve got chances. It’s a point on the board against a top team. Every point in this league’s crucial, so we’ll take it and move on.
“I think it’s a good point, at the end of the day, because they’re a good team. On another day, I think we get three points. We had good chances in the game, there were some moments where we were under the cosh a little bit, but that’s what a good team does. We got across the line and got a point on the board.”
