AFTER FIVE STRAIGHT DEFEATS, IT'S NO WONDER MANY SUNDERLAND FANS HAVE WRITTEN OFF PROMOTION AHEAD OF THEIR PLAY-OFF SEMI-FINAL AGAINST FRANK LAMPARD'S COVENTRY, WRITES DAVID COVERDALE

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• The Black Cats have lost their last five matches, scoring one goal during the run
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Judging by the mood on Wearside, you would be forgiven for thinking Sunderland had just been relegated to League One rather than playing for a place in the Premier League.

Boos rang round the Stadium of Light last Saturday as the Black Cats were consigned to a fifth consecutive Championship defeat against QPR. When the players then took part in a pre-planned post-match lap of appreciation, only a small smattering of supporters were still in the ground to greet them.

Contrast the scenes in Sunderland to those 200 miles down the road in Coventry, where Frank Lampard and his team lapped up the jubilant crowd’s acclaim after securing an unlikely top-six spot with a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough.

It is no wonder many Mackems have written off their promotion chances ahead of Friday's play-off semi-final first leg against the Sky Blues, who they have not beaten away in 40 years or anywhere in 10 games since 2007.

‘After the match against QPR, guys in the toilets were talking about accepting half-price for anyone who wanted to buy their second-leg ticket,’ lifelong supporter Nic Wiseman wrote in the Roker Report fanzine this week.

‘I am devoid of any hope. I can’t see anything but a Coventry win and I have now accepted that the season has ended and look forward to next.’

‘Til The End’ is the slogan Sunderland have been promoting on social media this week. But fans have rightly questioned why that motto did not apply to their Championship campaign, which they seemingly abandoned from the moment they sealed their play-off place with a goalless draw at Norwich on April 5.

In the past month, Regis Le Bris has rested and rotated regulars and given gametime to reserves, insisting: ‘It was clear that this squad, the youngest in the league with a small core, deserved to recover.’

However, his selection strategy has resulted in morale-sapping defeats to Swansea, Bristol City, Blackburn, Oxford and then – even after a warm-weather break in Portugal and the return of several stars - QPR. Over the five games, they scored just one goal.

‘They have tried to do something a bit cute, a bit clever,’ Sunderland legend and BBC Radio Newcastle pundit Marco Gabbiadini told Mail Sport.

‘It looked like a good idea at the time because players like Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg had played almost every minute and we have had quite a few injuries. It’s almost been like a mini pre-season.

‘But whether the sports scientists and those planning behind the scenes have got it absolutely perfect and the players are all going to hit peak form on Friday night, we will have to see.

‘It might be a masterstroke. But if we get beaten in the semi-finals, I think there will be a bit of an uproar from a section of the fans.’

The stakes are certainly high for Sunderland, not least because a failure to gain promotion would likely lead to the break-up of their talented young team.

The Black Cats do not need to offload players – their wage bill is only around £15million, less than half that of title-winning Leeds, and they are comfortably within the Championship’s profit and sustainability regulations.

But 27-year-old owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has made no secret of his ‘sell to thrive, not to survive’ strategy, which sees them develop young players and then flog them for a profit.

Academy graduate Tommy Watson has already signed for Brighton for £10million and next to go could be £20m-rated Bellingham, the younger brother of Real Madrid star Jude.

The Championship’s Young Player of the Year penned a new four-year deal last summer and said this week: ‘I’ve loved every minute of playing for this club. This season has been really special.’

Yet with interest from the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund, it is improbable to think Bellingham would stay at Sunderland in the second tier.

The same goes for 17-year-old homegrown hero Rigg. The England Under-19 international is considered the best outfield player to come through the Sunderland system since Jordan Henderson, but he also has top-flight interest and is set to attract big-money offers this summer.

Then there is French star Enzo Le Fee, whose loan move from Roma becomes permanent if Sunderland achieve promotion but would likely go elsewhere if they do not.

‘The club is obviously a selling club,’ added Gabbiadini. ‘In many ways, they are very well run and they are getting a lot of things right. But there is almost a sweet spot every two or three years where these little groups of players are going to come through and reach their full potential.

‘When I heard about Bellingham being linked to Chelsea, I thought, “Oh my god, please don’t go there”. You don’t want players going to a different club and not playing, like Jack Clarke when he went from Leeds to Tottenham.

‘In many ways they are better off staying at Sunderland and playing in the Premier league. But that option might be taken away from them, whether we go up or don’t go up, because the club might want to cash-in on them.’

That, though, is something for Sunderland to worry about over the summer. Right now, their only focus is on tonight’s trip to the CBS Arena, where they lost 3-0 in March, and recapturing their early season form, which saw them top the table after 15 games.

‘This team has done so well,’ insisted French boss Le Bris, who was hired last summer after Sunderland finished 16th. ‘It is important to take a step back and understand fourth place is a massive achievement.

‘It has been a weird situation. Fourth place was secured very early. We had nothing to chase and, in that situation, it's very difficult for all the teams in the world.

‘But now we'll play for a specific event with something to chase, so the mindset will be completely different. It is another chapter of the season. We have a brilliant opportunity ahead of us. It’s time to deliver.’

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2025-05-08T18:03:36Z