'Build on this': Sunderland boss Mel Reay on the next target after achieving Championship safety

In what was arguably Sunderland's best result of the campaign they beat Sheffield United 4-1 away from home, Emily Scarr scoring a brace before Maria Farrugia and Emma Kelly added their first goals of the campaign.

Achieving safety means Reay's group have achieved their primary goal but the head coach is eager to see performances continue progressing.

"We've kind of parked it [achieving safety]," Reay told The Echo.

"It probably does take off a bit of the pressure going into the remaining games but we've got our own internal targets and we haven't quite achieved those yet.

"Those targets were a little bit higher than just staying in the league, so once we've achieved those I think it'll be a real celebration moment knowing that we've hit those goals.

"We're seeing that players can hit the heights and play under the pressure at this level at times, and it's important that they remember these experiences for next season.

"We need to build on this, it's important that we don't slip back into bad habits now that we've got that little bit of experience.

"We're trying to kick these players on even more so building towards next season."

Sunderland face Watford at Eppleton on Sunday, with the Black Cats currently two places and nine points above their opposition in the table.

With two wins from three, Reay wants her side to capitalise on their run of home games before the end of the season and build some momentum for the summer and beyond.

"We worked really hard in the week on our mindset on the back of the disappointment against Blackburn, and we got that reaction against Sheffield," Reay said.

"It has been coming, and long may that continue.

"It's a great run-in for us, three home games and a game at Durham.

"Hopefully we can play without pressure and give our fans at Eppleton a taste of what we're all about ahead of next season."

Reay will have Louise Griffiths back in the squad after serving a one-match suspension, while Keira Ramshaw is also expected to return to the matchday squad after recovering from COVID-19.

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