Sunderland midfielder Mollie Rouse gives the inside track on outstanding campaign so far ahead of River Wear derby

Sunderland midfielder Mollie Rouse says the club's togetherness has been a key part of their success as they look to maintain their title push in the River Wear Derby on Sunday afternoon.

The Black Cats still sit top of the table despite a disappointing defeat to London City Lionesses last weekend, and face local rivals Durham at Eppleton next time out (2pm kick off).

Rouse was one of a number of players who joined the club last summer as a new playing model allowed for the introduction of professional contracts, the midfielder signing on deadline day from FFC Turbine Potsdam. After a spell readjusting to the intensity and physicality of the Championship and English football, the former England youth international has become a mainstay in Mel Reay's side and says the welcoming environment she found has been a key part of the club's success.

While many neutrals thought avoiding relegation would be the club's main focus this season, they have significantly outperformed expectation and remain firmly in the title race with just four games to go.

"It's a challenge when you come in later in the window, you miss the whole of pre-season and obviously there's a bond between everyone already," Rouse told The Echo.

"But the main thing for me was how welcoming everyone was, whether that be players or staff, I could feel from the first day what a positive place it is. The staff gave me time to get back to the English style of football after playing in Germany, they allowed me to grow back into it and really helped me on that journey. I think I've really found my place in the team and to be pushing for promotion, I obviously saw the results were positive before I came in but I think we're all just really happy with how the season has gone.

"From my first meetings with Mel and Steph [Libbey], it was clear they didn't just want good players but players who are good people and who are going to create to a positive environment. I could obviously see from the performances that they were managing to implement that. With the infrastructure now in place as well, it was a no-brainer for me.

"There's a lot of us who have come into a new environment and the girls who were already here have been super welcoming, showing us the ways of the north east. I love where I live, the area, the environment, I think it's just really clicked for everyone this year and that's a big part of our success.

"I really like it up here, the only improvement I might make would be the weather - you can't have it all! I love being by the coast and all that but the one thing that really stands out for me is the community up north. The whole city's backing behind the football is incredible and something I've not really experienced before."

Rouse is hoping that this season is the first of many for her on Wearside, and feels the team's success so far this campaign shows the future is bright.

"As a footballer, you want to be in an environment where you're comfortable," Rouse said.

"If you're comfortable, you know the ins and outs and you have less to focus on, you're not worrying about settling into a new environment, where you're going to live, those things. You focus can just be on the football and I think every player wants that. With the way the women's game is growing, you can think about the future a little bit more. There's definitely still a lot of work to do but this is a club that understands that and wants to be one of the ones leading the way.

"We're definitely building for the future, I think it's really gelled between the new signings and the players who were here already," she added.

"You have to take each game as it comes in the Championship but I think you can see how we've grown our identity and what we're trying to do. I think if you'd have asked last season I don't think many people would have said the title, I think that's credit to the club for the foundations they've put in. As we go I think we're trying to play more football, more possession-based, we feel we've got the confidence and belief that we can dominate games rather than trying to survive it which has maybe been the case in the past. It's definitely going to be pushing on from that in the future but first and foremost we've got to focus on these four games to try and do some damage."

Sunderland are expecting a bumper crowd for Sunday's game and Rouse is relishing the prospect.

"We're all buzzing, we played in front of a sell-out crowd there earlier this season," Rouse said.

"A derby is not like any other game, it's always like a cup final no matter the situation, let alone us being top of the league and hoping to push on. The big thing for us is having our fans as our twelfth player, we've really heard them of late and when we're tiring, we feel them and it showed in that Lewes game where we scored two late goals. It's going to be such a fight like it always is against Durham, but it's super exciting.

"A lot of the crowd recently have been amazed by the standard of football on display, and the environment you get by being so close to the pitch and feeling involved in it. We definitely feel it as well and I think that's shown in our results."

Tickets for Sunday's game start at just £5 and can be purchased here. You can watch Phil's interview with Mollie Rouse in full in the video at the top of this article, or over on our YouTube page.