Rather than “look on the negative side”, the Black Cats are focused on “competing” in the top flight next season – and believe they can, says Niall Huggins.
After an 18-month injury lay-off, the right-back made his return to action in Sunderland’s pre-season friendly opener against South Shields at the weekend, and is now desperate to play a prominent role in the coming campaign.
He might not have played a single minute last term as he battled through his long rehab, but Huggins returned to first team training at the very end of the season.
And he admits he’s still getting to grips with the idea that he’s now a Premier League player, though Sunderland’s players were struck by the “big changes” around the club when they reported back for the start of pre-season.
Not only have the Black Cats significantly strengthened their squad with six new signings, and more will follow, they’ve also invested heavily in improvements at the Academy of Light and Stadium of Light.
“It hasn’t really sunk in, it’s weird,” said Huggins of last season’s promotion.
“But then you go away and come back and there are big changes. The team is changing, everything is improving around the academy. It’s just a great feeling to be part of.
“This is a club that should always be in the Premier League. The feeling around the city, the club, everyone is just buzzing to be back where we belong.”
RECOMMENDED READING:
And Sunderland want to use that positivity as fuel.
Huggins said: “We all believed we could do it. Everyone is looking forward to it and as you can see we keep improving – and it was a strong team anyway.
“Everyone is positive. We’re just going to do what we can to focus on staying up and competing. That’s what we have to aim for, to compete and not look on the negative side.
“We want to be positive and focus on doing well in the league. That’s where everyone’s head is at.”
Sunderland were understandably cautious with Huggins at the end of last season after his long spell on the sidelines, but even being back around the first team squad in training meant so much to the 24-year-old, whose last competitive game came in December, 2023.
“It was unfortunate because by the time I got fit there just wasn’t any games, even with the youth team,” he said.
“So I was unlucky in that sense. But it was mint to be around the team, training and feeling as much a part of it as I could.
“And obviously I enjoyed the end of the season. The semi-final and final was amazing. It was great to be a part of.”
