Sunderland discovered their Premier League fixture list last week.

Even when you know it's coming, seeing it confirmed and written down is still a little sobering.

For Sunderland, 2026/27 is shaping up to be the most exciting campaign for generations but also the most punishing. Sunderland have faced packed midweeks and a brutal winter schedule before, particularly in the Checkatrade/Papa John's Trophy era, but never when the level and intensity of the football itself will be this high.

Sunderland begin their campaign with a tricky fixture against newly-promoted Ipswich Town at a Portman Road which will undoubtedly be rocking, before welcoming a Fulham side who were the only team to do the double over them last season. Then a brutal September: away to Brentford, home to Arsenal and away to Manchester City before a three-week international break. And then? The Europa League begins in earnest, with November and December a relentless run of two games a week. Sunderland will face an almost entirely different dynamic to last season, when so often they benefited from both the rest and preparation time their opposition did not have the luxury of.

Spending some time in the company of Florent Ghisolfi and Tom Burwell last week, however, made clear that behind the scenes at the Academy of Light and Stadium of Light they are quite happy to leave the fretting to those of us on the outside. Sunderland has for the last year found itself in the most unusual of sweet spots, whereby the ambition and belief internally outstrips that of the fanbase in the short term at least. Usually it's the other way round and that gap in expectation fosters friction and tension, but for the time being the team can ride the wave of positivity from the support while quietly targeting more.

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It was not by accident that one of Ghisolfi's first comments was to say that he was 'very proud' of what Sunderland were able to achieve in his first season as director of football, but also that he had been left with a feeling of frustration because it could potentially have been even better. Nor was it by accident that he responded to questions around the infamously difficult 'second season' by referencing his spell at RC Lens, when his side won promotion and finished seventh then seventh again and then second in Ligue 1. Ghisolfi was sending a clear message that he does not want a narrative to take hold ahead of the new campaign that Sunderland are destined to struggle, to be fatigued and drop short of the standards they set last season. He knows that he had a head coach in Régis Le Bris that is exceptionally good at managing emotions and expectations over the course of a campaign, and that in the longer run his job is to try and rewire the DNA of this football club. Ghisolfi is tasked with turning Sunderland AFC into a consistent top-ten Premier League club and to do that, you have to embrace these challenges rather than worry about them.

The mood behind the scenes is also a reflection of experience. While a European campaign is new for the vast majority of the Sunderland fanbase, for those in the dressing room it is very familiar territory. The likes of Granit Xhaka, Reinildo and Nordi Mukiele have had more seasons than not competing in Europe and even many of the squad's younger players such as Noah Sadiki and Chemsdine Talbi are well aware of the demands. They will be looking at next season not as a novelty but a return to normal.

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It's why in the aftermath of that 1-0 win over Leeds United, which saw Sunderland reach the fabled 40-point mark, Sunderland reacted very differently to years gone by when achieving safety. Ghisolfi joked that he was not a particular popular man behind the scenes as he felt that many expected a bonus or a big night out, only to find the director of football insisting that now was the time for the club to put their foot down and target the next level. Maybe some were disappointed, but many completely agreed. Xhaka and Mukiele in particular talked openly in the days and weeks that followed about reaching Europe, determined to set down a marker and to show that this was a group intent on achieving history.

So when neutrals inevitably and not entirely unreasonably predict a drop-off for Sunderland next season, expect it to be met with a wry smile behind the scenes. After all, this was a group widely expected to suffer immediate relegation. A side that was then expected to see their start unravel during AFCON. A side that was then expected to collapse when injuries stuck around the time of the Tyne-Wear derby. A side then expected to fall away and finish in mid-table after losing 5-0 to Nottingham Forest. No one is under any illusion about the challenges ahead, but there is a firm expectation that Sunderland will rise to meet them as they have done every time they have been written off or doubted for the past two years.

Sunderland fans, then, can be realistic but also excited. Particularly during those hectic winter months, it is inevitable that there be real lows to match the highs. Take a step back, though, and relish the fact that after those long years in the wilderness the club stands on the precipice of it's most exciting season in 50 years. Relish the fact that despite this, this is a squad and a management still only just getting started.

Your next Sunderland read: Three big things I noticed from Sunderland's 2026/27 Premier League fixture reveal