Ross revelling in Sunderland’s Wembley bid

The last time Sunderland boss Jack Ross was at Wembley he was with the Tartan Army at euro 96. Bristol Rovers manager Graham Coughlan’s most recent visit was with his three children, cheering Jesse Lingard’s FA Cup-winning goal for Manchester United in 2016. They may be scrapping away in League One — Ross to lead the Wearsiders up after back-to-back relegations and Coughlan to avoid the drop — but they know what Wembley means to supporters. The winner of tonight’s semi-final of the eFL Trophy at Bristol will face Portsmouth on March 31. Pompey have requested their full allocation of 38,000 tickets and Sunderland and Rovers both have fan bases capable of taking Wembley close to its capacity. ‘We have to embrace the pressure,’ said Ross. ‘The demands on this club mean pressure every day, so rather than play it down it’s about being resilient and realistic enough to deal with it. You can’t have the rewards of a big club without the demands.’ Five years ago, Sunderland lost to Manchester City in the League Cup final at Wembley. They were FA Cup winners in 1937 and 1973. ‘We know Portsmouth against Sunderland in the final would be big but we’re a hard-working club and we’ll give our all,’ said Coughlan, who was confirmed in his first managerial role in January. ‘You’ve got to seize the moment, they don’t come around too often.’

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