Sunderland fans here in the Football Transfer Tavern are hoping for an instant return to the top flight under their new manager next season.

After years of holding on by the skin of their teeth, Sunderland were relegated to the Championship last season after picking up only six wins and 24 points all season.

Despite this, our landlord doesn’t think relegation is a bad thing for Sunderland.

It’s almost like a fresh start, and whilst the Championship can be a very tough league nowadays and the Black Cats would do well to go straight back up to the top flight, they’re definitely capable with the right attitude and players.

That there is where part of the problem lies though, there are too many Sunderland players under-performing and that will need to change very soon for Simon Grayson’s side.

With only pre-season standing between now and the start of the league season, many Sunderland players will be fighting for their places, but they may have started to fight too late.

On that note, here are two Sunderland players who seriously need to impress during pre-season.

Jack Rodwell

The former Everton wonder kid all but ended his career when he opted for a move to Manchester City and proceeded to barely play a minute of first team football during his time there.

Rodwell continued this trend by only featuring for The Black Cats 20 times last season, admittedly he missed a lot of the season through injury. The 26-year-old will be looking to impress his new manager in pre-season.

Paddy McNair

The 22-year-old Northern Irish centre-back only featured nine times for Sunderland last season, like Jack Rodwell this was partly due to injury.

However, with Tyias Browning joining from Everton on a season long loan, McNair will need to seriously impress during pre-season if he is to have any hopes of nailing down a first team spot.

What do you think Sunderland fans? Let us know down below.