Sunderland go into the New Year with as many points on the board as they managed in the entirety of their last Championship campaign. The Black Cats' 4-1 thrashing of a sorry Wigan Athletic side moved Tony Mowbray's men onto 37 points, the same total that a very different group of players scraped together five seasons ago when the club suffered the embarrassment of relegation to League One.
But while 37 points was a pitiful return over a 46-game season, after 25 matches it represents an excellent achievement for the current squad in their first season back in the second tier after winning promotion. It lifted them into the play-off spots and up to fourth place in the table, although it would be a stretch to say they are riding on the coat-tails of top two Burnley and Sheffield United given the 13-point gap between Sunderland and the automatic promotion places - such is the crazy nature of the division that 13 points also happens to be the gap between the Black Cats and basement side Wigan.
Sunderland may also drop a place or two this evening depending on the outcome of other Championship fixtures, but regardless they will undoubtedly go into the New Year with a fine platform on which to build. The win at Wigan was an interesting study in changing footballing fortunes.
