Sunderland's promotion to the Championship signals the end of the club's four-year stay in League One - and the Black Cats will find life in the second tier very different to that they are leaving behind. The back-to-back relegations that saw Sunderland slide from the rarefied atmosphere of the Premier League to the more prosaic surroundings of League One in double-quick time came as something of a culture shock.
Finances took a colossal hit as the club's income plunged off a cliff, while the wage bill remained at stratospheric (for League One) levels. And things that the club and its supporters had taken for granted, such as guaranteed international breaks, were stripped away.
The play-off win at Wembley at the weekend has marked a turning point and a first step back on the league ladder, with Alex Neil and his side preparing for Championship football when the new campaign kicks-off at the end of July. The return to the Championship will not restore all of the privileges that Sunderland enjoyed in the top flight, with TV income still at a much reduced level, but there will still be some significant changes next season.
