Most people believe Sunderland are now out of the automatic promotion race after defeat to Hull City on Saturday, but Cameron Jerome thinks there is still a chance the Black Cats can do it.
Sunderland have now lost two games in a row; the disappointing last-gasp defeat to Leeds United last week, and the frustratingly flat 1-0 loss to Hull at the weekend.
The result leaves Regis Le Bris’ men eight points adrift of Sheffield United in second place, and the majority of neutrals suspect that is too big a gap to close now.
The Sunderland players were criticised after their latest display, but Jerome believes there is still enough time and enough quality in the squad to turn things around.
Cameron Jerome backs Sunderland to get automatic promotion
Discussing the state of play at the top of the Championship table on the EFL All Access podcast, Jerome suggested there are still four teams going for the top two places, despite Sunderland’s apparent disadvantage.
Jerome said: “I think it’s a four-horse race… I think they’re still a good side, I’ve watched them a lot, they’re young, they’re energetic, the crowd gets behind them, the Stadium of Light is a tough place to play.
“They’re in it, they’re eight points off second, that’s two or three games, it can happen in a week in the EFL. They’re still in the conversation for sure.”
It would take a miracle for Sunderland to finish second
With 12 games remaining, it would need a big collapse from one, if not two, of the teams above for Sunderland to have a chance of making the top two.
Le Bris will need a miracle, essentially. Leeds United are relentlessly marching towards the title, while Burnley are a formidable and efficient outfit who do not look like conceding a goal never mind losing a game.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LeedsLeeds | 34 | 22 | 9 | 3 | 71 | 21 | 50 | 75 |
| 2 |  Sheff UtdSheffield Utd | 34 | 22 | 6 | 6 | 48 | 26 | 22 | 70 |
| 3 |  BurnleyBurnley | 34 | 18 | 14 | 2 | 43 | 9 | 34 | 68 |
| 4 |  SunderlandSunderland | 34 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 50 | 31 | 19 | 62 |
| 5 |  West BromWest Brom | 34 | 12 | 15 | 7 | 44 | 31 | 13 | 51 |
| 6 |  BlackburnBlackburn | 34 | 15 | 6 | 13 | 39 | 34 | 5 | 51 |
Sheffield United are the one team the Black Cats could look at for a slip-up. The Blades fell apart against Leeds on Monday night, and have definitely looked out-of-sorts in recent weeks despite still grinding out wins.
Even still, Sunderland may still have to settle for a play-off spot, and would need to find their own form again anyway, which is easier said than done.
Up next is a trip to Hillsborough to take on a Sheffield Wednesday team hungry for revenge after a 4-0 battering earlier in the season; a potential banana skin if we ever did see one.