King Kev’s verdict on play-off chances – P38. Plus: Join our Tigers v Cats Watch Party at sunderlandecho.com tonight
Sunderland suffered a third straight loss against Blackpool on Saturday afternoon to all but end the Black Cats’ automatic promotion hopes from League One.
And Sunderland have not won since Good Friday when they defeated 10-man Oxford United at the Stadium of Light. That means it now looks like the play-offs for Sunderland with the automatic promotion spots seemingly out of reach but still mathematically possible.
The Black Cats take on Hull City at the KCOM Stadium this evening.
Former Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips delivered his verdict on Sunderland’s playoff chances.
“The play-offs are a lottery,” Phillips told Football Insider.
“The big thing for Sunderland is, psychologically, will this blip damage them? They got into such a good position and at one point they had the chance to go top of the league.
“If they weren’t to go up automatically, psychologically, it is a big blow. You may have to play the team that gets into the play-offs in sixth and the team that finishes there usually comes in on a roll.
“It is concerning and with the history of Sunderland in the play-offs it is far from ideal.”
Meanwhile, George Elek has urged Sunderland fans to not panic about third loss in a row and their streaky form as the Black Cats lost 1-0 to Blackpool.
“It’s three losses in a row now for Sunderland,” the pundit said to Quest.
"It’s important that Sunderland fans don’t think too much about their streaky leaking and don’t make it a self-fulfilling prophecy, because they weren’t too bad.”