Sunderland have picked up their form in recent weeks and now have a very realistic shot at promotion but it will be far from easy until the end of the season.
As the team has already shown this term, many sides in League One are capable of beating each other, with the Black Cats experiencing seven league defeats so far. Phil Parkinson has fixed the defence in recent weeks, however, with five goals conceded in 10 league games, and that means the north-east outfit should be feeling confident ahead of games against Rochdale and Oxford this week.
Former player Gary Rowell, who scored 103 goals for the club, believes Sunderland ought to be brushing aside lower-placed sides like Rochdale at the Stadium of Light, though he did admit that such opponents are a bit of a “banana skin”.
Writing for the Sunderland Echo, Rowell said of the upcoming fixtures:
“I can’t accept and more importantly the players shouldn’t accept losing at home to Burton or drawing at home to Bolton and many others, these are the points dropped that are so damaging. Sunderland can’t afford any slip-ups, it is win or pay the price.
“The Oxford away game on paper looks a lot harder [than Rochdale]. They might currently be only 10th but they are a better team than that position indicates and I wouldn’t be surprised if they rally a challenge for a play-off position so they can’t be taken lightly.
“Sunderland need the grit and resilience they showed in the two away games before Portsmouth, both 1-0 wins at MK Dons and Tranmere where both fixtures weren’t easy on the eye but I will gladly take the same outcome on Saturday.”
As Rowell has said, any match could prove troublesome for Sunderland in League One, particularly at home where the visitors may look to raise their game, but the next four matches are against opponents placed outside of the play-offs and therefore present a great chance to accumulate points.
March 1st then sees the Black Cats visit promotion rivals Coventry in what could be a decisive game but if Parkinson gets a run going and confidence flowing through his players, then it could be a great opportunity for Sunderland to position themselves in line for promotion.
Parkinson has got one area of the squad performing at maximum with the defence, and if he can do the same with the attack and show invention like he did against Ipswich to get the winner, then the north-east outfit may make a return to the Championship.
What do you make of Rowell’s comments? Is he right that Sunderland can’t afford any more poor results? Feel free to discuss below…