Sunderland legend Jimmy Montgomery hails Jon McLaughlin and has this message of warning

And the goalkeeping legend has backed Jack Ross to go on and seal a return to the Championship once the new season kicks off - having been impressed with the job he has done since joining the club.

Ross wasn’t the only new arrival to catch Montgomery’s eye - with the club legend full of praise for the current imcumbent between the sticks – Jon McLaughlin.

“Jon has had a great year and I just hope he can continue next year,” he said, speaking at the launch of the club’s new hall of fame.

“He’s been superb and when you go round the boxes and the rooms, people say ‘if only we had him last year, we might have had a chance of staying in the Championship.’ That’s quite right.”

Now, Montgomery has urged McLaughlin and his teammates to ensure that the same mistakes aren’t repeated once the new campaign kicks-off in August.

And the 75-year-old is eagerly anticipating another season which should see the Black Cats buck the trend of recent years and hit the winning trail.

“We just have to plod on and make sure the mistakes we made last year don’t occur this year,” he added.

“It was disappointing in the end because we should have gone up automatically.

“But apart from that, it was just lovely to see Sunderland winning games again because we’d gone a long time without seeing Sunderland win at home, even.

“So to have a season like that [was great], where we started brilliantly and did well in the middle.

“It just wasn’t to be.”

While missing out on promotion proved disappointing, there were no such qualms from Montgomery about the club’s new ownership and management after a successful maiden campaign on Wearside.

“The club was in a difficult place but they’ve come and they’ve turned it around,” he said of Ross and owner Stewart Donald.

“For me, Jack did a great job. He was presented with what he had and, for me, it’s a great job. Long may it continue.”