FANTASTIC
JACK: We got 46,039 for a routine game in League One so I can’t wait to see Sunderland’s loyal supporters pack out Wembley for cup final
The size of this club and the demands are massive JACK ROSS ON SUNDERLAND JOB
JACK ROSS paused for a moment on Boxing Day and saw the light.
The Stadium of Light in all its splendour to be precise.
A whopping 46,039 had crammed into the ground to see a League One clash with Bradford, the second highest attendance for a game in England’s third tier.
Former St Mirren boss Ross knew then he had joined a massive club.
And he now can’t wait to see Mackems fans pack out Wembley after leading the Black Cats to the Checkatrade Trophy Final.
Celtic loanee Lewis Morgan was among the scorers on Tuesday night as Sunderland beat Bristol Rovers 2-0 to seal a place at the March 31 showpiece.
Jack can’t wait to lead his side out and hopes to give the club’s loyal support something to cheer about after two years of misery that saw them fall from the Premier League to League One.
He said: “Sunderland are a proper club.
“I had never been in the Stadium of Light before I got unveiled as the new manager.
“The history of this club and what it means to people around the city is unbelievable. I thought I had a rough idea but it is much bigger than I imagined.
“I felt it from the opening game of the season when more than 30,000 turned up.
“Somebody said to me, “If you can get this thing going, you will fill it’. “It really hit home the day we did fill it when over 46,000 supporters attended our League One game on Boxing Day against Bradford. “I had a private moment during that game when I stood in my technical area and I looked around at the place and thought, ‘This ain’t bad’. “It was a taster for me and motivation to try to give Sunderland fans what they wanted. I was desperate to just batter on with the job and see if we could replicate those scenes in every single home game.
“The size of this club and the demands are massive. The pressures on me are huge. I have never shied away from it.
“I have stressed to the players they can’t be involved with Sunderland and not feel the pressure but they, like myself, have to deal with it.
“It has been a steep learning curve for me and it has tested me as a manager in so many ways.”
The 41-year-old’s decision to jump ship from Paisley to Wearside last summer was vindicated on Tuesday as that win over Bristol Rovers lined up a Wembley final with Portsmouth.
“The Mackems lost to Manchester City in the 2014 League Cup Final and Ross is well aware it has been 46 years since Bob Stokoe famously led Second Division Sunderland to their 1-0 FA Cup Final win over Don Revie’s Leeds.”
Now Ross knows he has a chance to enter into red and white folklore.
But he insists promotion back to the Championship is still the Black Cats’ main aim this season.
Ross said: “The Sunderland fans crave success.
“We don’t want to be in the Checkatrade Trophy if truth be told as we want to be a Championship club.
“I have never hid from the fact we want promotion.
“To get to a cup final at Wembley means everything to the Sunderland fans though and 40,000 of them are going along.”