Alex Neil's pre-season comments which show how far Sunderland have come since promotion to the Championship

The Scot pointed out that of the last 12 teams to win promotion from League One, none had finished higher than 15th the following season. While there was a large degree of optimism on Wearside ahead of the new campaign, there was also a feeling of uncertainty about the step up in quality.

Just over seven months later, in which Neil has left the club and been replaced by Tony Mowbray, Sunderland have 49 points after 34 games and are ninth in the Championship.

They are still just four points off a play-off place despite top scorer Ross Stewart playing less than half their league games due to injuries, while their squad has the lowest average age in the division at 24.5.

That is worth remembering after a bruising week which has seen the side lose back-to-back away games against Rotherham and Coventry, which have left the league table and Sunderland’s top-six hopes looking far less favourable.

Still, many would have taken this position at the start of the campaign.

The frustration will be that Sunderland looked like a real force after beating the Championship’s in-form side Middlesbrough last month, with Stewart winning the penalty which led to the Black Cats’ opener in a 2-0 win.

Despite his injury setbacks, the Scot has scored 10 goals in 13 league appearances this term. Any side would miss a player who is that influential, especially when Sunderland failed to sign another centre-forward at the end of the January transfer window.

It’s true that every side has to deal with injuries over the course of a campaign, yet losing players as important as Stewart and captain Corry Evans has been felt during a congested fixture schedule. Mowbray will hope full week’s preparation ahead of Saturday’s home game against Stoke can help re-energise his side heading into the final 12 games of the season.

While Sunderland remain in contention for a play-off place, the remaining fixtures may also provide more opportunities for players such as Abdoullah Ba, Isaac Lihadji, Pierre Ekwah and Jewison Bennette to gain more game time in the Championship as they continue to adjust following recent moves to Wearside.

So as the Black Cats prepare to come up against Neil’s Stoke City side this weekend, Sunderland are six points ahead of 15th-place Swansea and look set to finish higher than the previous 14 clubs (including Rotherham and Wigan who also went up last year) who have won promotion from League One.

It could be argued that Sunderland have a much higher ceiling than teams which have previously gone up from the third tier, yet recent history still shows the challenges when making that transition.

And while the Black Cats’ chances of reaching the play-offs may have taken a hit over the last week, it’s still shaping up to be a positive season following four long years in League One.