Former Sunderland boss Gus Poyet admits he expected the Black Cats to secure automatic promotion this season, and has warned the challenge of climbing out of League One will only get harder with time.
Alex Neil earned his first victory in charge of Sunderland with an emphatic 3-0 away victory against promotion rivals Wigan Athletic on Saturday. The win lifted the Black Cats back into the playoff spots, but they remain seven points adrift of the top-two with both Rotherham United and Wigan holding games in hand.
Poyet spent two years at the Stadium of Light following his appointment in October 2013, and helped the club achieve a 'miracle' by avoiding relegation with a remarkable run of form at the end of the season. This turnaround led to the former Chelsea midfielder signing a new contract, but he was dismissed in March 2015 following a run of just one win in 12 matches.
Speaking on his former club, Poyet anticipated a title challenge this season and has blamed a drop in 'consistency' for the poor form in 2022 which has diminished hopes of an automatic promotion spot. He told Betting Expert: “I thought Sunderland would be title contenders or in the top two.
"They were in that situation at first, but you can’t imagine how difficult League One is. It never finishes - it’s so long with so many games.
"They lost their consistency and there were changes in the team and it didn’t work and it led to the club changing the coach. You then expected a reaction but it didn’t happen straight away.
"I expected them to be in the top two, but at the moment, it’s no good. Let’s hope they finish in the top two and go up because that city needs football at a higher level. The core of the city is the football club.”
Sunderland are attempting to return to the Championship at the fourth time of asking, having twice been defeated in the playoffs and missing out in the curtailed 2019/20 campaign on the points-per-game decision. It was at this moment Poyet believed the Black Cats had hit 'rock bottom', and has warned his former side that it will not be long before they are viewed as a 'League One club'.
He said: “I thought Sunderland hit rock bottom two years ago after being in League One for two years. You thought, ‘okay, that’s enough’, but the longer you stay in League One, the harder it is to come back because of the budget situation.
"It’s happened to similar clubs. You need to be really, really careful because you become a League One club and Sunderland as a city do not deserve that. The fans, the stadium and training ground deserve better than League One.”
