Rallying The Lads For The Final Push!

Luke O'Nien and Noah Sadiki of Sunderland gesture during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Sunderland at St. James's Park in Newcastle, United Kingdom, on March 22, 2026. (Photo by Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images Gav says… I think the Newcastle win was a reminder to everyone that this season is very much not over yet, and that this team is on the brink of achieving something that no other Sunderland team in history has ever done: qualifying for European competition through their league position.

Being able to give that joy and satisfaction back to the supporters after what’s already been a magical season so far is a huge honour, and I really hope they’re hugely motivated to make it happen. That said, I think the best approach is not to put too much pressure on ourselves to do it, and can probably derive some inspiration from the Sunderland side that reached the Championship playoffs in 2023. Nobody had given us a hope in hell of finishing as highly as we did after promotion, and that complete lack of pressure allowed us to flourish where our competitors were probably under a lot more pressure and weren’t able to handle it.

In fact, there are players in the current squad who were part of that team and remember what it felt like going into that final run of games, where we seemed to gather pace and then, by the time we faced Preston on the final day, the shackles were completely off and we managed to finish in the top six. Obviously, where we are now is a much greater challenge than that, but I do think that there is something to be said for embracing the fact nobody fancies us. While the other teams around us are almost EXPECTING to qualify for Europe — and, in the case of some clubs, they NEED to qualify for Europe to ensure they don’t lose all their best players and find themselves massively restricted by cost-control measures in the summer — Sunderland just don’t have the same weight on their shoulders.

We have proven winners all over the pitch in this squad who know what it takes to get a team over the line, so I don’t doubt that we can do it. The key right now is to take it one game at a time and see where we end up — starting with Spurs on Sunday. Beat them, and I might start to really believe that a top eight finish is a real possibility.