Alex Neil was pleased with Sunderland's performance in their final pre-season outing - although he admits he would rather be going into the season with more momentum behind them. The Black Cats dominated against League Two Hartlepool United but had to settle for a 1-1 draw, meaning they end their pre-season preparations with just one win from five games - not counting the friendly against Rangers in Portugal which they were leading when it was abandoned at half-time due to a power cut.
But while results have been elusive, Neil has been largely happy with the displays put in by his side as they gear up for next Sunday's Championship opener at home to Coventry City. "I'm not going to lie in that I'd like to be going in with a bit more momentum in terms of getting wins on the board, so certainly now come Sunday that is the main priority," said Neil.
"I thought we deserved to win the game tonight, and I actually thought we deserved to win the game on Saturday [which they lost at Accrington]. We got 90 minutes into a lot of the players' legs. Hartlepool made seven changes at half-time, we made none, so they were fresh whereas our boys had already put 45 minutes in.
