Alex Neil has this message for Sunderland supporters on the eve of the new season

Optimism is high on Wearside after the club's play-off win at Wembley, with over 30,000 season cards sold already and an attendance of over 40,000 expected when Coventry City visit the Stadium of Light for the opening fixture on Sunday lunchtime.

Neil says the support of the fanbase was crucial in his bid to turn around the club's form following his arrival as head coach in February, and that it will be vital again as they look to consolidate in the second tier.

"I think that was probably the biggest thing that needed shifting when I came in, to be honest," he said ahead of the new campaign.

"If we've got a united fanbase behind this team, it is so powerful for this club because there are so many of them and they are so vocal.

"When you've got so many young lads as well, they live their lives on social media so they can't avoid all the opinions. I'm fortunate to be on the other side of 40 now, I don't even know how to work any of that stuff.

"The club had been shrouded in negativity for a period time, I think the fans feel as if they had been let down time after time. "There had been things I think with the ownership in the past, the Netflix series, it's just been a host of things that combined to where we ended up.

"I think last year took a massive step to correcting some of those things, and we need to try and stay on that path," Neil said.

"It's not going to be easy, there will be frustrations along the way and there will be people who start doubting us and start doubting some of the players.

"All I would ask is, the lads did everything possible last year to try and get us back to where we're trying to get to, stick with us because it's going to be a bumpy road.

"I can promise everyone that me and these lads will work as hard as we possibly can to try and make it work."

Neil is hoping that after a turbulent period the club can now begin to settle into a period of stability as they steadily try to build back towards the Premier League, both on the pitch and off it.

"It is harder to have stability at the bigger clubs, because of the expectations that are there but someone said to me, 18 in the last 20 years, that's ridiculous really," he said.

"The club needs stability and I'd say that whether it was me sat here or someone else. There needs to be a period where there's not a lot of chopping and changing, where you can stick to a plan.

"Any team that has long-term success, stability is a constant across all of them. That's where we need to get to."