Sunderland finished five places above Newcastle United last season.

Sky Sports pundit Alan Smith has admitted that he hopes Sunderland finish above Newcastle United for a second year running next season.

The Black Cats caused a notable shock last term by not only securing a Wear-Tyne Derby double over their bitter rivals, but also ending the campaign five points and five places above them in the Premier League table, securing European qualification in the process. And speaking to The Echo, courtesy of BestBettingSites, Smith has not only suggested that Regis Le Bris’ men have every chance of repeating the feat next term, but that he would be pleased to see it happen too. The former Arsenal striker said: “Five points ahead of the old rivals last year, which was a hell of a shock.

“Can they do it again? I always thought it might be a bit of a second-season syndrome type thing for Sunderland. It wouldn't be as easy. They took teams by surprise to a certain extent. But the fact that the hardest part is keeping the players that have done well because their agents would have been getting busy in the summer, having people like Brian Brobbey, having done ever so well for club and country.

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“But yeah, they've kept them all together. So we'll see. I hope they can do it again because they've been an exciting team to watch. And it might be that they've got a feel-good factor, and certainly Newcastle haven't. So it might be that they can finish above them again.”

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