Sunderland can still reach the Premier League via the automatic promotion places. That’s the view of former Black Cats defender Darren Williams, who played more than 250 times for the club with more than 100 of those appearances coming in the Premier League.
Sunderland are pushing for a return to the Premier League this season and Williams has insisted that the automatic promotion places are still “reachable” for the Black Cats this season, despite the gaping gap between them in fourth and the three clubs above them, Leeds, Sheffield United and Burnley.
Williams is still a believer. Speaking on BBC Radio Newcastle’s Total Sport podcast, he said: “It can be [done] yeah, definitely, without a shadow of a doubt. You know, I wouldn’t take my eye off the second spot, to be quite honest.
“You know, I think it’s reachable. Listen, it might be a glimmer of hope that we get into second spot. Obviously, with having two knocks with the injuries we’ve just taken on board [Dan Ballard and Enzo Le Fée], fatigue, etc. But there’s no way on earth that we cannot make that.
“But you’ve got to be realistic and think you can’t just rely on the fact that we’re 12 points [at the time of writing] into the play-offs because then that complacency kicks in.”
Williams’ comments somewhat echo those of Sunderland stalwart Luke O’Nien, who insisted the team would keep pushing until the final day of the season. O’Nien is set to make his 300th appearance for Sunderland against Sheffield Wednesday this evening.
He said: “It’s game-by-game. What we do, the systems we play, every game we play, we’ve got to evolve.
“I’ve said it from the start of the season, from the very first game. We’ve won games and been at the top to where we are at the minute right now.
“There’s a hell of a lot of work to do. When you win a game, if you go into first or second, it’s irrelevant. It’s where you are on the 46th game that’s the most important. So there’s a lot of minutes to be played, a lot of points to get picked up and our focus isn’t just to win a game, look at the table and get all emotional.
“It’s win, lose, reflect, make sure the team moves forward and go towards the next game.”
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