Sky Blues are no pushovers, Neil is warning
ALEX Neil says Sunderland must not underestimate their openingday opponents Coventry City.
The Black Cats boss insists his team are the new kids on the block in the Championship, while the Sky Blues have established themselves in the second tier.
Sunderland make their return to the Championship tomorrow after winning promotion from League One at the fourth attempt.
A big crowd is expected at the Stadium of Light and the surge of positivity which surrounded the Wearsiders’ promotion at Wembley two months ago is set to continue into the new campaign.
However, Neil cautions that Sunderland are stepping up a level and start against a side about to embark on its third season in the Championship following promotion from League One in 2020.
He said: “I do think we have a difficult start.
“Unfortunately for us, I think some people might underestimate Coventry - I certainly don’t.
“I’ve seen them first hand and they are a very good side and it is going to be a tough match for us.
“We have a team which is an unknown quantity in the Championship and we are coming off the high of winning promotion last season.
“We have good players but it is going to be a learning curve for a lot of them.
“I would say three-quarters of the squad has not played at Championship level - and even the year we did spend in the Championship, as a club we fell right through it.”
Neil added: “We had a good end to last season and we have good players, albeit some of them are young and still finding their way in the game.
“We also have an incredible fan base which will hopefully urge the lads on and allow them to outperform where they currently are in their development.
“There are a lot of things to be excited about.”
Mark Robins’ Coventry were promoted from League One as champions in 2020 and finished 16th in the Championship in their first season back at that level, building on that to finish 12th last term.
He said: “I think they are a team you look at and think that is the path we are going down - more so than other teams who have maybe flung money at it and tried to get out of the league that way, which in the Championship is difficult to do. It is a case of making steady progress.
“This year is going to be really exciting. It is going to be difficult at times and I just hope the fans stay with us because naturally anything that is worth building takes time.”