Niall Huggins outlines Sunderland Premier League ambition amid ongoing injury comeback
Sunderland defender Niall Huggins has been speaking ahead of the new Premier League campaign.
Sunderland defender Niall Huggins has outlined the Black Cats’ desire to adapt and survive in the Premier League next season as he continues his comeback from a long-term injury.
The full-back made his long-awaited comeback from a knee complaint that kept him sidelined for the entirety of the 2024/25 campaign during a pre-season friendly against South Shields last weekend, and has travelled to Portugal as part of Regis Le Bris’ first team squad for a training camp this week.
And looking ahead to the upcoming campaign, Huggins has spoken about the club’s ambition to establish themselves as a firm fixture of the top flight.
What has Niall Huggins said about Sunderland’s upcoming Premier League campaign?
Speaking to The Echo in the aftermath of Saturday afternoon’s 4-0 victory at South Shields, when asked whether the reality of being a Premier League footballer had fully dawned on him yet, the defender said: “It hasn't really sunk in. It's weird. You go away and come back and there are big changes.
“The team is changing, everything is improving around the academy. It's just a great feeling to be part of. This is a club that should always be in the Premier League. The feeling around the city, the club, everyone is just buzzing to be back where we belong.
“We all believed we could do it. Everyone is looking forward to it and as you can see we keep improving it. And it was a strong team anyway. Everyone is positive. We're just going to do what we can to focus on staying up and competing. That's what we have to aim for, to compete and not look on the negative side.
“We want to be positive and focus on doing well in the league. That's where everyone's heads at. Until that first game, I don't think you really realise until you are in a different league. But we're all ready and looking forward to it.”
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Huggins also spoke about the process of his rehabilitation, and revealed that he was closing in on full fitness towards the back end of last season. He continued: “It was unfortunate because by the time I got fit there just wasn't any games, even with the youth team. So I was unlucky in that sense.
“But it was mint to be around the team, training and feeling as much a part of it as I could. And obviously I enjoyed the end of the season. The semi-final and final was amazing. It was great to be a part of.”