Phil Smith's verdict: Inside an exhilarating night for Sunderland and how they did it- plus the firm message that followed

This was a special night and a major result, but now he said is the time to keep the hammer down.

There was a phrase when his Dad, Gary, managed Latvia that translates roughly as 'never relax'. It was in his mind now, as he was asked to reflect on Sunderland ended the calendar year top of League One and in some style.

"Honestly, we have mega bucks of work to do," was his upbeat but firm response.

On the pitch, for sure, where Sunderland were not even at their best for the first half an hour or so of this game. Rotherham United and Wigan Athletic retain an advantage in terms of points-per-game and so there can emphatically be no room for complacency.

And off the pitch that message is even more acute. Kyril Louis-Dreyfus' planned transformation of the club into a modern footballing operation still remains very much in its nascent stages, and Johnson is not prepared to let one or two wins deflect from that.

The upcoming January transfer window, as just one example, remains a critical moment in this push for the top two and that the Stadium of Light turf remains in fairly poor nick is another example.

All the same, Sunderland fans have endured enough tests of faith in this last three-and-a-half years to know when the time has come to let those wider issues drift away, even if just for the briefest of moments.

The club's journey in this division will at some stage along the way have made everyone ask themselves, ' just why?!' and make no mistake it will do so again this season.

So right now it makes sense just to revel in a side that performing with clarity and quality, and most significantly, taking advantage of the opportunities that have been passed their way by the general disruption across the League One schedule.

Sheffield Wednesday were not at their strongest here, able to train fully as a squad only three times in the build up to the game as a result of their recent COVID-19 outbreak.

Towards the end it was clear that across the park they had little left to give.

The flipside of that was having not played for over two weeks, in the opening stages there was a freshness about their play and it was to Sunderland's credit that they not only came through that but took a dominant lead.

There may well have been a touch of fortune about the opener, Ross Stewart seemingly just offside as he sprung clear, but the move generally was targeted to exploit Sheffield Wednesday's high line and it was a trick they repeated relentlessly through the game.

Even aside from his perfect hat-trick, Stewart was simply outstanding, never giving the back three a moment to rest. His attributes are numerous, but his ability to turn what would be a lost cause for many strikers by gaining quick ground on backpedalling defenders has been transformative for this team.

Wednesday were not the first but merely the latest to buckle under that pressure this season.

Johnson was candid in admitting afterwards than even though the recent injury crisis has significantly hampered his options, it has brought some stability in terms of the starting XI and all over the pitch you can see how players have benefited from that clarity and consistency.

Alex Pritchard again thrived here. We expected him to be a creative force when fit, but what is most notable about his current performances is that his intelligence and work-rate has made him Sunderland's most dangerous pressing weapon.

Barry Bannan can dictate games when given the chance, but here Pritchard never let him settle for a second.

Johnson says one of the stories of 2021 is that the new philosophy is 'clear to see' and this goal-glut epitomised that.

Most pleasing for the head coach, though, was that the platform was there to exploit it.

A night like this had looked a distant prospect when these two sides met in early November. Afterwards the Sunderland boss had said he was confident he could turn things around quickly, but there was no hiding from the scale of his side's defensive weakness and he conceded that there was now a 'little playbook' on how to beat Sunderland.

Wednesday are without doubt a team that likes to play out, but it was clear here that Darren Moore's decision to lead the line with Lee Gregory and Callum Paterson was specifically designed to try and expose that lack of physical power.

Only this time they made little impression, so good were Tom Flanagan and Bailey Wright in dealing with both first and second contacts.

There will be another stern (perhaps the sternest of all, in fact) test in the next League One fixture away at Wycombe Wanderers, but in terms of Sunderland's automatic promotion prospects this was perhaps even more encouraging than the incisive attacking play.

Sunderland are earning the right, and there is no doubt at all that Johnson has improved the options available at the other end of the pitch when they are able to do that.

So all that was left was for over 30,000 of the red-and-white army to revel, and that they did.

'We're top of the league' reverberated around the ground after Stewart's second and from there it would only get better, more delirious, more upbeat.

Sunderland are heading into the new year with a very powerful sense of unity.

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