Exclusive:Former Sunderland manager claims Kyril Louis-Dreyfus 'proven right' over big Regis Le Bris decision

Sunderland will go into the Championship play-offs with ‘as good a chance as anyone’ of securing promotion into the Premier League.

That was the verdict of former Black Cats manager Simon Grayson as he assessed the performances of his old club after they officially secured a top six spot with a goalless draw at Norwich City last week. Regis Le Bris’ side were all but certain to take one of the four play-off places from January onwards and moved a step closer to confirming their top six spot with a narrow win at West Bromwich Albion before getting over the line with a stalemate at Carrow Road.

Although there was a slight negative with a home loss against Swansea City on Saturday, Sunderland will head into their Bank Holiday weekend double-header with Bristol City and Blackburn Rovers with confidence as they look to build momentum ahead of the play-offs. Grayson stressed the unpredictability of the play-offs and the overwhelming backing of the Stadium of Light faithful means his old club will be a threat as they prepare one last push to end their eight-year absence from the top flight.

He told The Echo: “Sunderland have done really well this year, the new coach has come in, with a young squad, and they’ve embraced what he’s been doing. They’ll have the backing of supporters at the Stadium of Light and when you get into the play-offs, no matter who you play, it’s a toss of a coin of where things end up, who you play, who turns up on the day and Sunderland were there a couple of years ago under Tony Mowbray and fell in the semi-final at Luton - but I am sure they will think they have as good a chance as anyone in the play-offs.”

Grayson also threw his support behind one of his successors in the dugout at the Stadium of Light after praising Le Bris for ‘grabbing the opportunity’ that he was handed by the Black Cats hierarchy last summer.

He said: “He was a surprise and the owners have obviously done their homework on him. He has grabbed this opportunity, developed his own style and has given youth the opportunity to play some good football. It’s proven to be the right decision."

Leeds United close on Premier League promotion

The Black Cats are not the only one of Grayson’s former clubs involved in the race for the Premier League. As he watches on from afar during his time managing Nepal Super League club Lalitpur City, the lifelong Leeds United fan has been impressed with the progress his boyhood club have made under current manager Daniel Farke.

As it stands ahead of the Easter weekend fixtures, the Whites are sat at the top of the Championship table and appear to be well on their way to promotion back into the top flight after missing out last season following their play-off final defeat against Southampton. Grayson, who also played for and managed Leeds, has praised the work Farke has undertaken during his two-year spell in charge at Elland Road and is hoping to see the German boss rewarded with a third Premier League promotion of his career.

He explained: “The Leeds one is close to my heart after supporting, playing and managing the club. The last week has been an incredible week given at one stage it looked like we were slipping away a little bit and then all of a sudden, back-to-back wins and results elsewhere have put us in a really strong position with four games to go - but you can’t take anything for granted. I’m hoping I’ll be back for the last game of the season when hopefully it’s a celebration game at Plymouth Argyle.

“I’ve been really impressed with Daniel Farke since he came in two seasons ago. It’s not easy to manage a club the size of Leeds with the expectancy level - but I think he embraced it very quickly. Even recently he has been under pressure with some results but when you look at his record, it’s unbelievable the wins he’s had and where they’ve been in the last two years. Hopefully he can round off this success with promotion.”

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