Phil Smith's verdict: It may only be the Checkatrade, but this day is for you, Sunderland supporters

You might not feel the same nerves you felt last time you were there.

When for a short, heady time, the impossible seemed possible.

You might not get quite the same knot in the stomach, the butterflies, the anticipation.

You might even be more nervous at Barnsley next Tuesday.

But this day will be for you.

You followed Sunderland that night Everton were dismantled, when a team and a manager looked set for bigger and brighter things.

You then watched the manager leave for England, and the team broken up.

The star loanee not signed, the star defender sold.

Still, you came back for more.

They didn’t win for three months, and still you came back for more.

January came and went, rivals strengthened. Sunderland stood still, but you came back for more.

They won 4-0, and then they didn’t win for four months.

They went down with a whimper. The star striker left, the local hero sold.

You still came back for more.

It got worse than you could ever have imagined.

Barely a penny was spent.

You went to St Johnstone in the pre-season sun, to watch Jeremain Lens and Wahbi Khazri strut their stuff.

3-0 down inside half an hour. At the anniversary celebration of your stadium, a 5-0 defeat.

You watched in horror as it kept getting worse and worse.

At Ipswich Town, a 5-2 defeat, your defender bullied by a striker half his size. Your three goalkeepers hit the worst form of their career, all at once.

2017 came and went, the team winning just once at home. That whole 365 days, they led on home turf for just 20 minutes.

Then the top striker departed, and another window ended with a squad weaker than it started.

One of the highest profile players in the club’s history couldn’t play. But still said England caps at centre-back could be on the cards.

Brentford, Preston North End, Barnsley, Burton Albion, countless others.

They came and they conquered. Relegation rubber-stamped by a striker who was once a hero.

All the while the owner was nowhere to be seen, except to say the team should be seventh in the Premier League.

And still you came back for more. In your droves. 20,000 signed up for the new season, only the club’s second ever in the third tier, before a ball was even kicked.

46,000 on Boxing Day.

A day at Wembley is the very least you deserve.

So too these players and this staff.

From manager to captain and everyone else, the challenge and responsibility has been embraced.

The preparation and professionalism second to none.

Far bigger challenges await than this. It will not be a day that defines this manager, these players, this season.

But why not enjoy it, embrace it?

The unity, the fun, the pride.

This year has served as a reminder that when all is said and done, this is what it’s all about.