‘It’s up to us’ to get out of third tier – Pritchard
ALEX Pritchard has little time for the hackneyed notion that a club of Sunderland’s stature should not be languishing in League One.
“Everyone says that, and I understand why, but the reality is that the club is in League One and it has been for four years – that’s the situation,” the midfielder sighs as he looks at the floor in a spartan sideroom at the Academy of Light.
Raising his head to make direct eye contact and in a determined voice, he adds: “It’s up to us to change that situation.”
And that is the nub of it, as Sunderland head to Wembley for this weekend’s League One play-off final against Wycombe Wanderers. After three failed play-off bids in the last four seasons already, nothing can be taken for granted.
If the Black Cats are to end their unwanted stay in the third tier, they are going to have to earn their place in the Championship the hard way. But that prospect does not faze Pritchard, as he gears up for one final push.
“If we can get over the line then we all know what it will mean to the supporters, to the staff, and to the city,” he told The Chronicle.
“We just have to go into the final with a clear mind, and if we play our game and work as hard as we know we can as a team and as a unit, I’m pretty sure we can do it.
“We have got one game left and we have given ourselves a great opportunity, but we know what Wycombe are like – they are a good team and they have got players who have done it before, so we have to go there, stamp our authority on the match, play our game, and get the job done.”
Much has been made of Sunderland’s play-off record, with the club having yet to win in the end-of-season contests in six attempts at various levels dating back 35 years, but that has not deterred supporters making the pilgrimage to Wembley. Around 44,000 fans will turn the West End of Wembley red and white on Saturday, with thousands more heading to the capital to soak up the atmosphere even if they cannot get their hands on a ticket.
Pritchard has played at the national stadium before, representing Huddersfield in a Premier League game against Spurs – the club where he started his career – back in March 2018 when the Londoners made Wembley their temporary home while their new ground was being built. He said: “I’ve played at Wembley before, for Huddersfield against Spurs.
“It didn’t go to plan, though, because I came off after half-anhour with a dead leg! But it’s a great stadium, it’s a great atmosphere, so we have to enjoy the occasion, take it all in, but make sure that we get the result we want to make it a great day.
“I’ve got family and friends there watching the game, and hopefully afterwards I can celebrate with them. It’s going to be a good day out for the fans – they deserve it – but at the end of the day we have a job to do. For me, personally, it’s a case of having my eyes on the game, pocket the atmosphere, and use that to look forward to the match.”
Sunderland had to navigate a testing play-off semi-final against Sheffield Wednesday in order to book their place in the showpiece final. Ross Stewart’s goal at the Stadium of Light gave them a slender 1-0 advantage to take into the second leg at Hillsborough, although Pritchard twice came close to giving them a two-goal cushion but was denied by first the crossbar, and later a fine save by goalkeeper Bailey Peacockfarrell.
In the return game at Hillsborough, Wednesday’s Lee Gregory scored 15 minutes from time to level the tie on aggregate, only for Patrick Roberts to score in injury-time to equalise on the night and send Sunderland through 2-1 over the two legs. “We knew it was going to be tough,” said Pritchard.
“Coming away from the first leg, I struggled to sleep at night knowing that we could have scored a couple more goals and been in an even stronger position. But going there at 1-0, it was always going to be difficult.
“I’ve played at Hillsborough previously and it’s not an easy place to go. I looked up at the board when we conceded and it was the 74th minute, so it was then do-or-die really. “Massive credit to the boys on the pitch, because as a team we stuck together.
“I’ve been there before and you can go under, but it didn’t happen to us and Patrick Roberts scored that important goal in injury time. We always believed we would get something there – we always believed that.
“I think that’s the character of the team. We’ve got good attacking threats and we can always get a goal. Fair play to the boys at the back as well, because they were solid.”
In the other semi-final, Gareth
If we can get over the line then we all know what it will mean to the supporters, to the staff, and the city
Alex Pritchard
Ainsworth’s Wycombe beat MK Dons 2-0 in the first leg, and although the Dons won 1-0 in the return, the Chairboys went through on aggregate.
Pritchard has tasted play-off defeat before, having been on loan from Spurs at Brentford when the Bees lost out to Middlesbrough in the Championship semi-final in 2015 – with Boro going on to lose to Alex Neil’s Norwich in the Wembley final. Twelve months after that, Norwich were back in the Championship and Neil brought Pritchard to Carrow Road.
From Norwich, Pritchard joined Huddersfield in January 2018 and played in the Premier League for the Terriers, before arriving at Sunderland last summer – and while he had a slow start after missing pre-season due to Covid, he has gone on to become a key player in the club’s promotion push. And he was reunited with Neil in February, when the Scot was appointed as head coach following the sacking of Lee Johnson.
“It was a great opportunity for me at Norwich, under a great manager in Alex Neil,” he said. “I learned so much in my time there, and I was part of a great squad. I had tough times there as well when I didn’t play because the other boys were in good form and I had an injury there as well, so I had to bide my time. Then from there I went to Huddersfield, and then here to Sunderland.
“When Lee Johnson was here he was fantastic and we played some great football, just unfortunately results didn’t go our way and that’s what can happen. He was a great guy, he gave us a great platform and a great opportunity, and some of the young boys will forever be in his debt.
“Then there was the change and the club could have brought in anyone. Personally, I had one task this season and in that sense it didn’t matter who it was who came in – I wanted to play a part in getting this team out of this league. But they chose Alex Neil, someone I knew from before, and he was a great choice.
“You can see that everyone has taken well to him – the boys have got their heads down, they’ve fought, and they know what is at stake. It’s been an absolute rollercoaster of a season and the job still is not done.”