Tony Mowbray is confident that Sunderland can compete in a ‘tough’ Championship season.
Speaking to The Northern Echo, the Black Cats boss has admitted the league looks a lot harder on paper this time round, however he believes they can once again ‘punch above their weight’.
After miraculously reaching the Championship play-offs last season, Sunderland will be eager to go one step further and return to the Premier League for the first time since 2017.
However, the second tier has arguably become the strongest it has been a very long time following the relegation of Southampton, Leeds United and Leicester City.
While the likes of James Maddison, Tyler Adams and James Ward-Prowse are still likely to be plying their trade in the Premier League, the three clubs pose a huge challenge to anyone looking to win promotion this season.
Meanwhile, the likes of West Brom, Norwich City and Middlesbrough are among a number of clubs that have their own very strong chance at challenging for a top two spot.
Despite this season looking significantly harder than the last, Mowbray has not let it phase him.
“The league looks so much tougher on paper, the games look really tough, but we should look forward to it,” he told The Northern Echo.
“The games looked tough at the start of last season and we managed to punch above our weight, so that’s the aim again, to be relentless, to keep going, to give every team a game, to be really competitive and find the right balance week in, week out of players that can help us out of possession and be resilient but also the creative players.
“We had that last year with Amad, Pat, Jack, who were all amazing. Let’s see what the end product looks like at the end of the window, how strong the team is, how many bodies we have in and look forward with real positivity going into the season, that’s the plan. And to try and improve.”
Will Sunderland have underachieved if they don’t win promotion from the Championship?
Sunderland massively overachieving last season has left fans increasing their expectations for their second year in the Championship.
The Black Cats certainly have the quality players and manager to go one better next season, however it will be extremely impressive if they manage to beat off some of England’s ‘biggest’ clubs to do so.
It seems that the Wearsiders’ hope of winning promotion is likely to rest on the play-offs – a prospect that is a lot less scary to supporters now.
However, it probably wouldn’t be considered a failure if they failed to improve on last season’s position. There is no rush for the club to return to the top flight, but it would definitely be a unbelievable achievement if Mowbray managed it this time round.