Sunderland boss Mel Reay sets challenge for players in Championship run-in as summer preparations begin

The Black Cats have confirmed their Championship status for another season and welcome high-flying Bristol City to Eppleton on Sunday (12.30 KO).

With three games of the campaign left to play, Reay's side still have the chance to match and potentially even improve their points haul from their first campaign at the level.

The head coach has stressed the importance of maintaining high standards and finishing strongly, meaning rotation of the starting XI is likely to be limited.

"The pressure is on them [Bristol City], they need to come and win try make sure that they are right up there to get promoted. "We've got to try and enjoy the games knowing that there's no pressure on us, but also knowing that we've got a big part to play.

"It's about personal standards and that's what I've stressed to the players this week. We want to finish as high up as we can and I think if we win two out of the three, we'll finish where we did last season in terms of points and I think that's a good milestone for us and one that we want to try and reach and maybe even better.

"We'll be going strong [in selection] to try and do that, the competition is always going to be there and the players have got to be performing to make sure that they get the shirt."

Reay says the achievement in securing safety is not to be underestimated, with standards (and budgets) across the division as a whole growing rapidly. It has been a challenging campaign for the club but one with some huge positives, including a home derby win in front a bumper crowd against Durham, and an excellent performance in the FA Cup against a near full-strength Manchester United side.

The Sunderland head coach is now stepping up preparations for next season ahead of a crucial summer.

"It's a huge achievement and it was obviously our first objective at the start of the season," Reay said.

"It's been a really tough year with ups and downs, but the main thing is that we've got enough points and we've got over the line.

"The division is improving and so it was always going to be tougher in our second season, teams are improving and we have found it difficult at times, but we've also managed to produce some real highs. We just need to get it right for next season as well, and make sure that we grow and that we grow with the league.

"That's an ongoing process and we're already monitoring things and planning ahead - there's going to be a lot of conversations over the next couple of months."

After Bristol City's visit Sunderland will close out their campaign with a trip to Sheffield United and then a home game against Blackburn Rovers on April 30th.