Such are the standards they’ve set this season and such is the position they’ve found themselves in at the top of the Championship, where relentlessness is required to keep pace with the three teams above.
Sheffield United have won five of their last six, Leeds four and rock solid Burnley haven’t conceded in an eternity. Sunderland aren’t going to get any favours in the race for automatic promotion.
Which is why, despite Dennis Cirkin’s late leveller, the overriding feeling was frustration and disappointment after Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Watford.
The Hornets headed for Wearside on the back of three defeats on the bounce, one win in eight and having been victorious only three times on the road this season. After Luke O’Nien’s early opener, Sunderland should have kicked on.
The Black Cats remain unbeaten at home this season and only Leeds and Sheffield United have picked up more points in their own back yard, but Plymouth and now Watford were missed opportunities. Sunderland can’t afford many more if they’re to win promotion in 46 games rather than 49.
“The nice thing for us as a group and club is we go into every game expecting to win,” said O’Nien.
“We’ve come a long way from when I first joined the club. That’s great. We have to align that with slight tweaks in the performance and we’ll pick up more points than we lose.
“We always look to win, we set up to win not to not lose.
“We didn’t quite get the press right in the first half but there are good things to learn. There’s good things to learn from the game, how do we get more pressure on the ball, we’ll use it to our benefit.”
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If this season does end in promotion then it will have been fuelled as much by spirit as quality. Sunderland were below par on Saturday and after Imran Louza’s stunner to put Watford ahead immediately after the restart, which followed Tom Dele-Bashiru’s penalty just before the break, the Black Cats rarely looked like forcing a leveller.
But writing this team off is a fool’s game, and the three sides above will know Sunderland are still in the top two hunt, despite the gap having stretched to five points.
Sunderland found an extra gear they craved in the late stages and forced an equaliser when Dennis Cirkin made amends for conceding the penalty by bundling home Enzo Le Fee’s corner.
One point should have been three. First Wilson Isidor and then Milan Aleksic missed glorious stoppage time opportunities to win it. How harsh that would have been on Watford, not that Sunderland would have cared.
And for all Sunderland’s resilience has shone through this season – they have the best record in the Championship so far for points won after falling behind – they’d lost 11 points in the final 15 minutes of games and won just four prior to last Monday’s trip to Middlesbrough.
They’ve now picked up three more thanks to their dramatic winner at the Riverside and Cirkin’s late leveller on Saturday.
But a win feels like an absolute must on Wednesday against a Luton side that has won just once on the road all season and lost 12 of their 15 games on their travels.
Sunderland will likely be boosted by the return of Jobe Bellingham, who wasn’t risked on Saturday and was sorely missed in midfield, where the Black Cats lacked his energy and drive.
Thankfully, they still had Enzo Le Fee to call on. He’s getting better and better and was again the Black Cats’ star man against Watford. His set-piece deliveries led to both Sunderland goals. But two goals at home to an out of form Watford side should have been enough for three points.
