Sky Sports pundit Kevin Phillips has warned Sunderland of a 'horrible' let-down if they get too complacent following the celebrations for reaching the League One play-off final.
The Lowdown: Route to Wembley
The Black Cats went into the second leg of their third-tier play-off semi-final against Sheffield Wednesday with a 1-0 lead following Ross Stewart’s goal at the Stadium of Light, but the game looked set to be going to extra-time at Hillsborough after Lee Gregory found an equaliser for the Owls on 74 minutes.
However, winger Patrick Roberts came up with the goods for Alex Neil’s outfit by adding a winner in stoppage time to give Sunderland the 2-1 aggregate victory, meaning that they will now head to Wembley to take on Wycombe Wanderers in the ultimate showdown on May 21st.
The Latest: Phillips reacts to celebrations
After seeing his former side's epic celebrations at Wednesday, Phillips has urged them to remain fully focused, telling ChronicleLive: “Enjoy tonight, rightly so and they get ready and start preparing for a week Saturday which is so important because you don’t want to go there and let you down.
"I’ve been there with Sunderland and it’s horrible to lose in a play-off final but believe me when you do win a play-off final it’s one of the best ways to get promoted and I hope these guys feel that on the 21st.
“They’ve [Sunderland] been stuck in it [League One] for four years, they’ve got another opportunity on the 21st to get out of it, but it’ll be a tough tough match. Everyone will make Sunderland the favourites.
"Ultimately, as Clinton [Morrison] will tell you, when these moments come around, you have to enjoy them. Definitely go and have a beer tonight, enjoy yourselves tonight and tomorrow and then come back in whenever you do refocussed to go again."
The Verdict: Neil’s the perfect man for the job
Alex Neil first joined the Black Cats on an initial 12-month rolling deal back in February where he took over as Lee Johnson’s successor following their 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Bolton Wanderers, which ultimately saw his time at the club come to an end.
The 40-year-old took charge of the last 15 league games of the season after arriving and has quite literally transformed Sunderland’s record, having won eight, drawn six, and lost just one of those outings, as per Transfermarkt, so it’s no wonder they managed to secure a play-off place after displaying such scintillating form.
The Bellshill-born manager already has experience of being in this position having guided Norwich City and Hamilton up through the play-offs and there’s no reason why he won’t be able to do it again later this month.
In other news… a finance expert has dropped a huge claim regarding the club’s potential takeover.