SAFC Fan blog: Why this is Sunderland's time after years of misery at the Stadium of Light

April may provide to be the catalyst for the Black Cats in their bid for automatic promotion, with eight games to be played within the space of 26 days.

It is a crucial run of fixtures, if Sunderland are to finally end their three-year stay in League One, kicking off with Oxford United on Friday and then they travel to London Road on Easter Monday for the televised away game against Peterborough.

The Posh sit second but the Black Cats know that a win over Darren Ferguson's side and promotion will be within their firm control.

Of the three remaining front-runners, Hull seem to have the easiest final run-in out of the sides, with five of their last eight being against sides that currently find themselves in the bottom half of the table.

Behind the match against Peterborough, Lee Johnson's side's other most important match could prove to be when the Black Cats make the short trip to Wigan on April 13th.

Sunderland are the only team out of the top three to play on that matchday, with this being the Black Cats' game-in-hand on those teams around them.

Of course when the end of the season comes closer and closer, the break that lies in between games is even more crucial, and for Sunderland, this is where they are lacking.

They play an average of every three to four days and have no break until their final week of the season.

Lee Johnson may use this to their advantage, due to the squad depth that he has at his disposal, with the competition for places heating up as more of his troops return back to first-team action.

At this stage of the season, no matter who the opponent is, every game takes a greater of significance, whether Sunderland are playing Northampton or Hull - the goal at the end of the 90 minutes is three points.

With just over a month of the League One season to go, Sunderland's destiny remains simple - continue winning matches and they will be promoted; suffer a bump in the road and their promotion push may derail.

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