The Sunderland figure issued a bold message to Bristol City and Coventry City ahead of the play-offs

Sunderland historian and club figure Rob Mason has expressed full confidence in the Black Cats' play-off hopes, insisting that whoever they face, it should be their rivals who are more concerned.

Speaking ahead of the final games of the regular Championship season, Mason shared his thoughts on the mood among Sunderland supporters and the importance of entering the play-offs with belief.

“Everybody I've been speaking to recently has been asking me, I've been up at the academy this morning, and fans have been saying to me, who do you fancy in the play-offs? And my answer is, I couldn't care less, I'm not bothered, I'll take them all on,” Mason said ahead of the game against Oxford United. “But most people I speak to want to play at Bristol City for exactly that reason that you've just pointed out, Danny.

“You know, Bristol City struggled to beat us when we played with 10 men for 83 minutes. But in fact, if I do have a slight preference, I'd rather play Coventry because, yeah, we have got a bad record against Coventry. Yes, Coventry did walk all over us when they beat us 3-0 down there recently. But people I know at Coventry say that was their best performance of the season. It was undoubtedly Sunderland’s worst.

“And I think if we went into a game with Coventry, we would, fans-wise, we'd be really looking for it because we know it's a tough task to get. I fear there's a little bit of overconfidence if we play Bristol City. Not from the players, the players will be entirely professional, the management will be entirely professional, but the mood around the camp, the mood around the club, going into the game."

Rob Mason calls for focus ahead of Championship play-offs

Mason also stressed the need for focus, warning against complacency and highlighting Sunderland’s strong position heading into the post-season and detailed how players returning from injury would boost their cause in the play-offs.

“Whoever we play, we've got to be switched on, we've got to be at our best,” Mason said. “And let them worry about us, look at that league table, we're miles ahead of all of them. Despite the fact that in the last three games we've happily sacrificed the points. Or not happily, but we have sacrificed the points. But the point is, we haven't been desperately scrambling to get points. Like Coventry, Bristol City, Millwall, and Middlesbrough are desperately scrambling to get points now.

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“We've not been having to desperately scramble because of how well we've done over the season. Now, like it or not, everybody's got a different point of view. Some people don't like what Régis Le Bris has done recently in terms of resting players. Personally, I think it's a good idea. Because now, we're near full strength going into this penultimate game of the season. Penultimate league game of the season. We've got one or two other people who you'd want to be in the team, like Dennis Cirkin, like Romain Mundle, who are close.

“Dennis is close enough to be on the bench this afternoon and is expected to come on. Hopefully, ideally, when we do go into that game, which I think is on May 9th, the first play-off game away, we can be at full strength. And then, never mind worrying about whether we're playing Middlesbrough or whoever it is, let them worry about us, because we are miles better than them. What we've got to do is make sure we prove it when it happens in those games. Because nerves can affect players, refereeing decisions can affect players, and it might not go our way. But I would go into the play-offs very, very confident, regardless of who we're taking on.”

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