Charlie Methven makes a Sunderland promotion prediction ahead of the League One season resuming

While League One is currently on hiatus, Methven believes that Sunderland cannot yet be ruled out of the race for promotion despite having dropped out of the play-off place before the campaign was suspended.

Indeed, he feels it is a case of when – not if – the Black Cats return to the second tier.

“[The fans] will be rewarded for it, hopefully this season,” said Methven, speaking to the Radio Times.

“We’re still right in the thick of it, three points off the automatic promotion places.

“If not, it’ll happen sooner rather than later because the club’s just too good, too big and now too stable not to eventually succeed.”

And Methven’s belief that things will come good at the Stadium of Light is reinforced by a positive offf-field position – which gives Sunderland a solid foundation from which to build.

He added: “The main aim of what we were trying to do was try to turn it around and get the club straight again, the case now is that the club is debt-free, cashflow positive and in a good position.

“As a fan you’re primarily focused on ‘did we win last weekend? Are we going to win this weekend?’ but fundamentally, if a club is in a sound place, the football will come, and it always does come in the end.”