In almost any other season, Sunderland would have already crossed the line. Their emphatic 5-1 victory against Cambridge United saw the Black Cats reach the 80 point mark, which would have been sufficient to secure a third-tier play-off place in 33 of the previous 35 seasons since the play-offs were introduced.
Only in 1995 and 2003, when Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City respectively, finished sixth with 81 points, has the bar been set higher. In some seasons, clubs have made the play-offs in this division without even reaching the 70 point mark.
But as things stand, and depending how other results go, Sunderland might yet need four more points from their remaining two games to be certain of a place in the end-of-season lottery - and six points could even bring automatic promotion, although the chances of that coming to pass are so vanishingly slim that they can be effectively discounted. Ever since his arrival, head coach Alex Neil has insisted that he does not look at the league table, but following the win against Cambridge United he dropped the pretence.
