Sunderland are making solid progress but there are still some key caveats: Phil Smith's tour diary

It has been a rapid turnaround from that weekend at Wembley and you have to think there are some teams across the Football League who will be caught out.

For a change, you feel like Sunderland are a side and a club enjoying some stability and continuity.

During their Albufeira training camp they looked in sound order. Yes they were beaten by AS Roma on Wednesday but for the most part, their structure was good against top European opposition.

They have kept the core of their squad together from last season, and there is an understanding of how they want to play this year.

If you compare that to the dramatic turnover that has tended to define recent summers (whatever you think of his tenure generally, to start last season so well was superb management on Lee Johnson's part), it is encouraging.

There are still, of course, some key unknowns.

For one Sunderland will be facing a significant step up in standard, and there is a core of their squad who are largely untested at Championship level.

Players like Alex Pritchard and Patrick Roberts, both excellent against Rangers, are going to be key.

It was also clear over the course of the two games that there are still some key gaps to cover in this squad, ones that may not be a major issue right now but quickly become so with just one or two injuries or suspensions.

Some of those are perhaps at this stage less concerning than others. Though Alex Neil had in both games to deploy a stand-in centre-back, Bailey Wright will return at Dundee United on Saturday and give that position a far stronger look for the time being. And so excellent was Luke O'Nien's performance against Rangers, you wouldn't have any real reservations about him filling in on a couple of occasions.

Where Sunderland need a breakthrough is up front.

The injury that kept Ross Stewart out of the defeat to AS Roma is said not to be significant, but all the same it underlined how integral his movement and presence is to the team. It's not an easy position to recruit in now, with any player coming in conscious that they have a big battle on their hands to fight their way past the Scot. But it's imperative the Black Cats manage it if they are to succeed in consolidating in the Championship.

Trai Hume's composed showing against Rangers offers encouragement of his chances this season, but on the other flank Dennis Cirkin will need support. It's a similar story in goal.

I asked Neil after the AS Roma game whether he was concerned about the striking situation specifically, or whether he was still pretty relaxed. The reality is that the unusual schedule this season means most clubs will only get their squad fully together at least six or seven games into the season.

Neil joked that he was never relaxed about his team. The inference was that while not absolutely ideal, patience is required and the group he's working with is progressing well.

That probably reflects the mood on Wearside. It's optimistic, if a little cautious.

Lots of work done, lots more to be done.

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