One player that was cast away by Jack Ross in Sunderland’s 2018/19 League One season went on to play in the Europa League.
In the bleak days of League One, Sunderland found themselves undergoing massive troubles, both on-and-off the pitch.
The side under Jack Ross often struggled to reach the heights that were expected of them, and this in turn led to a rather measly 5th placed finish in the 2018/19 season, despite being expected to reach the automatic spots at the first time of asking.
Sunderland’s campaign ended with a last-minute defeat to Charlton Athletic in the play-off final at Wembley, and condemned the Black Cats to the third tier for yet another season.
Within that Black Cats side, there was one man who notched just one single game under Scotsman Ross, with him not being a major part of his plans, but following his time on Wearside, he surprisingly found himself involved in Europa League football.
Robbin Ruiter once moved from Sunderland to Europa League side PSV Eindhoven
One of Sunderland’s lesser-memorable players during the turbulent 2018/19 campaign was Robbin Ruiter, who was handed more action in the preceding season, often rotating with Jason Steele in the Championship relegation campaign.
The Black Cats man was clearly not in Ross’ plans, and went on to play one game in the 2018/19 season, notching just 14 minutes in place of Jon McLaughlin, who was substituted against Bristol Rovers in a 2-1 win.
After that campaign, the Dutch shot-stopper was unsurprisingly moved on, but he actually managed to notch a move to Eredivisie side PSV Eindhoven, where he played as a back-up behind Jeroen Zoet. During his tenure with the Dutch giants, he notched league game time, but also in the Europa League, where he was utilised against Rosenborg, quite the upgrade to bench warming with Sunderland in League One.
How Robbin Ruiter reflects on Wearside spell
For many players who may be in a similar situation to Ruiter, having undergone a difficult spell with injuries and inconsistencies with their performances, they would most likely not look upon that club with very fond memories, but that certainly isn’t the case with the former Black Cats shot-stopper.
Despite having already moved on, Ruiter attended the 2021/22 League One play-off final, which saw Sunderland finally return to the Championship, and the Dutchman even posted on his Instagram a photo of himself with fans at the game.
No matter how his stint on Wearside ended, it is brilliant to see that the club had such an everlasting positive effect on him.