Sunderland’s dramatic win over Swansea City at the weekend did more than just deliver three points, it proved the Black Cats have what it takes to gain promotion this season.
After a dismal run of six games without a win, Sunderland have enjoyed quite the week, securing wins against Stoke City and Swansea, with a draw against Bristol City sandwiched between.
The recent run of form has helped Regis Le Bris’ side maintain their place in the top six and kept them within touching distance of the likes of Leeds United and Sheffield United at the top of the Championship.
With their current trajectory, it would appear Sunderland can go all the way and win promotion this season under Le Bris.
Sunderland’s young squad showed character to beat Swansea, they need that resilience
The guys on the Second Tier podcast certainly believe Sunderland could achieve that unlikely dream this year, with host Ryan Dilks insisting the Black Cats are “well in the hunt” despite that dip in form in November.
Co-host Justin Peach claimed the points dropped during that period have not been all that detrimental to Sunderland’s hopes, and suggested the win over Swansea was a real signal of intent from the young Sunderland squad as to what they can achieve.
Peach said: “They dropped off the top of the table, but that was always going to be likely. They have a young team, they will develop inconsistencies, they’ve shown symptoms of that but it’s fine, the progress they’ve made is good. It’s positive
“You have to put a timeline in place and recognise that this season they have been very very good. This result as well, the character of the team was a real positive. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but the character of the team came up trumps. It’s exactly what you need in a promotion race.”
Dilks highlighted the progress Sunderland have made in such a short space of time, adding: “This is their third season back in Championship, so to be flirting with automatic promotion is an incredible rise… If you offered a Sunderland fan this at the start of the season, they’d rip your hand off.”
Sunderland look a completely different team now, they’ve grown mentally
Earlier in the season, Sunderland appeared to lack a certain mental strength that you would have thought would let them down as the campaign rolled on.
That looks to have changed now, though. Over the last week, Sunderland have proven they can fight back from difficult situations to win games, and that kind of resilience is massively important in a title race.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  Sheff UtdSheffield Utd | 21 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 30 | 11 | 19 | 45 |
| 2 |  LeedsLeeds | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 37 | 15 | 22 | 42 |
| 3 |  BurnleyBurnley | 21 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 26 | 8 | 18 | 41 |
| 4 |  SunderlandSunderland | 21 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 32 | 17 | 15 | 40 |
| 5 |  BlackburnBlackburn | 20 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 25 | 17 | 8 | 37 |
| 6 |  MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough | 21 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 35 | 25 | 10 | 34 |
Sunderland are unbeaten at home all season, the young squad is clearly brimming with confidence now, and they still have the January transfer window to bolster their ranks, too.
While the automatic promotion spots look destined to be filled by Leeds and the Blades, it would take a monumental drop-off for Sunderland to miss out on the play-offs now, and we know that anything can happen in those games.