Cats can swop wastelands for Promised Land

QUITE how Sunderland turned £890million of Premier League income from 15 seasons in the top flight into a League One club is one of the great tales of waste and mismanagement in football.

But finally they are on the up. Not quite “back” where they want to be but the Championship will do for now.

Wembley was a blur of red and white and a cacophony of Wearside noise to see Alex Neil shake off any burden of play-off defeats and six years of decline and stagnation.

Neil (below) has stirred something. Unbeaten in 16 games, one defeat in 18 since taking over in February. He is tactically wise with no-nonsense honesty in his player management.

Asked if a win would be “transformational” he preferred to see it as a stepping stone. “I’m not quite convinced. To get back to where we want to be as a club, it’s the next stage. There’s optimism around Sunderland which is nice… a bit of anticipation of what is to come. Everyone’s got a better outlook.”

That’s an unusual sentiment from a Sunderland manager in the last few years. They’ve started the climb.

Consecutive relegations, bumping along for four seasons trying to get out of League One, while always being watched by 30k-plus crowds.

Parachute payments were snaffled, costs cut, and a £100m-a-year turnover withered to a Covid-hit £10.7m, but they have never lost the support of a city desperate for their flagship institution to revive.

At least 47,000 Mackem fans travelled down to Wembley to be part of it. They are why Sunderland has continued to matter.

Those supporters, and the players who coped with the pressure to deliver, deserve their celebrations.