SUNDERLAND

LAST SEASON

LEAGUE ONE 5th FA CUP First Round LEAGUE CUP Quarter- Finals TOP SCORER Ross Stewart ( above, 26)

FAN FILE

Last season was a relief; a visible release; a proper ‘ thank f** k for that, we’re finally on our way back to the Championship’ season. The big talking point is how we’ll make sure we stay up. We completely deserved League One, but none of us thought it would be so difficult to get out of. The main focus is rebuilding and staying up comfortably, so we can start looking up rather than down. This season will be different because we have a number of players who are better suited to a higher standard of football. Decent football is already at our core.

Our key player will be Alex Pritchard – a cut above League One and likely to be one of the most influential players in the Championship, too.

Look out for Dan Neil, a Sunderland supporter who had a storming first half of last season. He could be the stellar product of our academy since Jordan Henderson.

The active player I’d love to have back is Josh Maja, after mixed success since leaving. A number of fans likely wouldn’t, though.

Fans think our owner has done a good job in the main, and [ majority shareholder] Kyril Louis- Dreyfus’ presence at games can’t be criticised. The main gripe is that he hadn’t got shot of fellow shareholders Stewart Donald and Charlie Methven before this summer break.

I won’t be happy unless we stop being associated with crackpots. I am sick of ( for example) bearded weirdos, crypto conmen and others with their half- arsed schemes thinking that Sunderland are a vehicle for them to get rich, famous and more successful.

Our most underrated player is Corry Evans [ below]. I wasn’t alone among Roker Report writers in thinking that he didn’t deserve the armband – or even to start matches last year – but Alex Neil made him a different player.

The fans’ opinion of the gaffer is that he couldn’t be more popular right now. I can’t see Neil being under pressure unless we’re at risk of dropping again, and I believe he’s got the package to take us to the top level.

We’ll finish 10th or 11th.

FFT VERDICT 16TH

The Black Cats will look to settle in mid- table on their Championship return, but talisman Ross Stewart has lofty individual ambitions, with interest from elsewhere. Don’t bet against ‘ The Loch Ness Drogba’ making a splash under Neil, who is popular for his brisk approach.