Max desperate for promotion but admits it looks unlikely this season

Max Power admits that players remain in the dark over what will happen to the League One season – but admits it ‘doesn’t look too great’ for Sunderland.

The Black Cats are currently verged on the edge of the play-off places with eight games left to play in the third-tier campaign.

But the League One season is now widely-expected to be cancelled this week

– with the Football League (EFL) believing it is becoming increasingly difficult to complete all remaining fixtures by July 31, their selfimposed deadline.

And while Power admits that he and his Sunderland teammates are unaware of the latest EFL plans, he believes that the latest reports mean finishing the season looks unlikely.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen in terms of finishing the season,” he said, during an Instagram Q&A with former Tranmere Rovers teammate Danny Holmes.

“It doesn’t look too great, but we’re in a good position again to go up.

“It’s crazy times with everything that’s going on.”

He continued: “It’s quite worrying, because at the moment there’s no plans in place.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen.”

The EFL look set to decide the campaign on a sporting merit basis – with a weighted points-per-game model reportedly a favoured solution – which would consign Sunderland to a third season in League One.

And that means that Power, who has deputised for captain Grant Leadbitter during recent months, will have to wait for a return to the Championship, in which he played for Wigan Athletic.

It’s something he admits he is ‘desperate’ to do.

“I’m just desperate to get promoted with Sunderland,” he added.

“That’s the reason I signed there.

“We came so close last year and again, this year hasn’t been straightforward.

“But short-term I want to help the club get back on the path towards the Premier League.

“I’m not saying the club will be in the Premier League in the next few years, it’s going to be really tough.

“Football has moved on and the finances involved are different now.

“But short-term, I just want to get out of this division.”