'Excited': Sunderland boss Mel Reay reflects on a summer of big change and the path ahead

When Sunderland begin their Championship campaign next Sunday, it will undoubtedly be something of a step into the unknown.

It has been a summer of transition at London City Lionesses but also at Sunderland, where the scale of change has been significant.

Part of that was expected, the club moving to a hybrid model this summer that saw professional contracts handed out and hopefully the gap to the rest of the division cut somewhat.

Part of it was inevitable, after a frustrating season in which the team weren't really able to build on their solid first campaign back at second-tier level.

Part of it was unquestionably not ideal, talented players moving to pastures new.

If there was some understandable anxiety for Sunderland Women supporters at one stage in the summer, then in recent weeks there have been some welcome green shoots.

Some exciting new additions with genuine pedigree in the women's game, and the core of an exciting group of young players still in place.

While the significant turnover will inevitably bring some teething problems on the pitch, head coach Mel Reay sits eleven days out from the beginning of the campaign with genuine optimism about the road ahead.

"We were disappointed with last season, in terms of how it finished and how it fizzled out," Reay explains.

"We want to win more games and we want to be more competitive. And sometimes people have to leave to allow new people to come in, that's part and parcel of football.

"There were some that came by surprise, so for example Dan Brown has relocated to Spain and that wasn't about football, so those are the kind of things you can't plan for.

"We've brought players in and they have good Championship experience, good international experience, we just need to give them time to settle and develop those relationships with team mates because there has been a lot of change. We'll need a little bit of time to gel but I think the future is bright.

You can listen to Mel Reay's interview with The Echo in full on The Roar Podcast, available on all podcast feeds

"I definitely think we've been able to strengthen. We feel these players are going to add real value to the team and what we're trying to achieve. They're quite senior players and I think that's really important for us.

"I'd like a couple more through the door, we've had a lot of conversations with a lot of players. It's been a busy summer and if we can get a couple more in, it will just give us that extra bit of depth and competition for places.

"With the game growing and a lot of the teams being professional in this league, we were quite behind where a lot of teams were," she adds.

"In an ideal world we would all like to be fully professional but it's about sustainability and so it's a gradual process, and we have been able to get a lot of players full time. The model has allowed a lot of them to still access every session even though they're not classed as full-time players. It's been really positive, it's worked out better than I thought it would. We've got big numbers in sessions and to be honest, it does feel like we're full time."

Part of the change on Wearside reflects the fact that the stakes have risen considerably this season, with two relegation places rather than just the one.

It means Sunderland have to be better than last time out to protect the Championship status they have fought so hard for in recent times. A volatile division is hard to read at this stage but Reay is hopeful that her team can push on and compete better.

The hybrid mode allows for more training time and most importantly more recovery time - a source of real frustration and a key advantage for rivals over the last couple of years.

"There's been a lot of change across the division, a lot of movement of players and lots of changes in managers as well," Reay explains.

"A lot of it in pre-season is behind closed doors and I know that's frustrating for our supporters but on Sunday's friendly for example that wasn't our decision. Teams do that so that people don't know that they're doing, and so that when those first games come around people don't know exactly what to expect. So if you're shouting about what you're doing, you're just enhancing what the opposition knows.

"So our first game, for example, London City have been quiet. There's new management, a lot of new players. So until we've had the first couple of weeks, I honestly don't know exactly how it's going to pan out. Charlton and Birmingham look strong and should probably be up there come the end of the season if I was to take a punt now.

"We're hoping to be a lot more competitive this season, for sure.

"I'd like to think we can push on, we absolutely don't want to be in a relegation battle again but we'll have to wait and see how the season pans out. Every fixture is going to be difficult and a lot of overnight stops, but hopefully with the model we've got now we can protect the players better so they're not going into games tired."

The goal for the club is to reach professionalism in a couple of years, trying at the moment to ensure financial stability and also to offer a place in the squad for some of the experienced players with other work commitments.

Without question, the club is not yet operating with the budget of some of their divisional rivals.

So that pre-season optimism has to come with context and a little caution, but Reay is excited about the next chapter in her journey with the club and has outlined what to expect from her team this season.

"I'm excited to take the club into another Championship season, with some fully professional players at my disposal," she says.

"I'm excited to see how much more we can compete, how much closer can we get to those teams who are fully professional?

"We've all got ambitions and I would love nothing more than to take this team up to the Super League. Are we there yet? Probably not. Could it happen over time? Absolutely. We're just trying to make sure things are in place for their eventually.

"I think this season you'll see a really tight-knit group of players who've got each others back. They want to win and they're hungry to win, and I'm seeing that determination every day. Hopefully fans coming down can see lots of wins. We need the fans, we saw it when we played at Newcastle. I'm excited for the season."