Luke O'Nien's heartfelt message to Sunderland fans ahead of milestone 300th appearance

Sunderland club captain Luke O’Nien has delivered a heartfelt message to supporters as he approaches 300 games in all competitions for the Black Cats.

Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Hull City in the Championship marked the 30-year-old defender’s 299th game for the Black Cats after joining the club from Wycombe Wanderers during their first season in League One under then-manager Jack Ross.

Should he play a part against Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship on Friday night at Hillsborough, O’Nien will become the first Sunderland player to reach 300 games for the club since Micky Gray. Before that, Kevin Ball, Gary Bennett and Gordon Armstrong also reached the same milestone.

Only 28 players have reached the 300 landmark in Sunderland’s entire history, with O’Nien now set to join an illustrious list of names which includes Jimmy Montgomery, Raich Carter, Bobby Gurney, Len Shackleton and Jimmy McNab amongst others. In typical O’Nien fashion, though, the defender wasn’t aware of the incoming milestone until just before the Hull City game.

“It means the world,” O’Nien said about reaching 300 games for Sunderland. “I didn't actually know until I read the programme. I was like, what does that mean? I didn't know anything. That will be a special moment for me, but not just for me, for my family, for my kids. I just finished the game and took my kids around the pitch.

“They just see their dad running around. I can tell them I've done it 300 times for this club now, which is nice. Although they probably don't really care. I won't be moving up on any goal charts or anything like that. Those sort of things are very special to me and everyone knows how much the North East and the City of Sunderland mean to me. 300 would be incredible, but I'll swap all of them as long as we win on Friday.

“I think the relationship when I joined the club just worked really well. I had no interest in leaving. I've loved it here and there's still a lot more to be done.I had some goals and ambitions when I joined the club. I've achieved some of them. This club has helped me, not just on the football side of it, but married, kids, everything up here.

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“This place means the world to me and there's still a lot I want to achieve here. Not just individually, but collectively. As long as the club keeps moving forward, that's one of my jobs here. You always withdraw from experience. My first game wasn't the best game I ever had. I watch it back, I get better and I improve. I'm 300 games in now and people never thought that after my debut.

“That's the recipe and formula I take into every game. It doesn't really matter too much what's happened. What's happened has happened now. It's how you look at it back, how you watch it, how you get better. As long as we're not the same team and at the same standard as we are today in two or three months' time, then that's the most important thing. We keep getting better and keep pushing each other. That's all you can do.”