Sunderland are on a similar pathway of gradual improvement as this weekend's opponents Luton Town, according to Tony Mowbray. Both the Black Cats and the Hatters have refused to throw big money around in the transfer market chasing short-term success - a route that has led many Championship clubs into financial problems - preferring instead to concentrate on savvy recruitment and a more patient approach.
While Sunderland embarked on this journey when Kyril Louis-Dreyfus took over in 2020, Luton started years earlier and it has powered their rise from the Conference through League Two, to winning League One in 2018-19 - when the Black Cats finished fifth at the same level - and then to steady improvement in the Championship, finishing 19th in their first season back in the second tier, then 12th, and then last year sixth and competing in the play-offs. With gates of 40,000, Sunderland have a huge financial advantage over Luton but Mowbray insists the Black Cats are taking a similar approach to Nathan Jones' side.
"I think that's the journey we are on," said Mowbray. "I'm sure everyone is aware that there is a plan at this football club of how we are going to do it, building incrementally, rather than throwing tens of millions at it, it's important to build.
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"I remember speaking to Nathan after Blackburn had played them and we played really, really well at their ground and he was basically saying that that was how they wanted to build their club - play a certain style, and have an identity to their football team. I think he's done that really well over the last few years.
"He's adding what feels like a better quality of footballer to the way they play. When I watch them, they are a real threat to anybody they play, especially at home.
"I know they had a difficult day at Watford recently [losing 4-0 at Vicarage Road last Sunday], but when I watch their home games they have taken some big scalps."
Jones led Luton out of League Two and into a League One campaign before leaving in January 2019 to take over at Stoke City, leaving ex-Sunderland man Mick Harford to take charge for the remainder of the season and secure promotion. Jones' tenure at Stoke lasted only 10 months, and he returned to Luton for a second spell in May 2020 to oversee the 12th place and 6th place finishes.
However Mowbray rejects the idea that Jones is simply 'the right fit' for Luton. He said: "Is Luton the right fit for him? I'm pretty sure that in his mind he wants to manage in the Premier League, whether he thinks he can do that with Luton - I suppose it is about resource, and yet they spend £2m on Cauley Woodrow in the summer.
"So we shouldn't put them down as little old Luton who don't spend any money and just have to get free transfers and kids from the academy. I think their recruitment has been good.
"I don't know what happened with him at Stoke.
"Maybe he is comfortable in the environment [at Luton], maybe he likes to build so there's no pressure to finish in any certain position, and he's just making his club better every year. Ultimately it comes down to owners and whether they are patient enough to want to build every year and see where it takes you, or whether they want to get to the Promised Land now, and if you can't do it then someone else will have a go.
"There are different ways of doing things."
Sunderland face Luton at Kenilworth Road this afternoon, and Mowbray says his side will face a physical battle. He said: "Luton at Luton are a hugely different proposition to Luton away from home, in my opinion.
"Firstly, I should say that Nathan Jones' teams are always 100 percent maximum, at full throttle, every game and you have to be ready for the confrontation that's coming. If you don't match their running power or their physicality, you're going to be in trouble.
"The ground is tight - it's virtually the same as when as I played there in the mid-80s, barring it's now a grass pitch when it used to be an astroturf pitch back then. It's quite a tight, intimidating, stadium.
"They play to their strengths, they get the ball forward, and I feel that they have really upgraded their group of players. I've been there the last few years with Blackburn and it is a really tough place to go.
"We have to be ready for that, but we have to play our game and make sure they don't turn it into a game where they can use their physicality and strength against us."
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