Easter can be make or break time for clubs fighting for prizes at the top end of the table. Two Bank Holiday wins can lay the groundwork for an automatic promotion or set up a play-off place, while two defeats can reduce a season's hard work to rubble.
On balance, then, Sunderland's four points gained over the Easter weekend lies towards the positive end of the scale. The Good Friday home win against Shrewsbury was the perfect start, and the Easter Monday goalless stalemate at play-off rivals Plymouth returned a solid point which extended the Black Cats' unbeaten run to ten games.
It means Sunderland will go into the final Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday of the season well-placed, with their play-off fate still in their own hands, which is about as much as they can ask for at this stage. The reality is that Wigan, Rotherham, and MK Dons, will account for the two automatic promotion places and one of the play-off places.
