Sunderland are thriving in League One under Jack Ross and look to have turned themselves around.
Jack Ross’s achievements at St Mirren marked him out as one of the most impressive up-and-coming managers in British football. So choosing crisis-club Sunderland as the next step on his coaching journey was certainly a bold decision.
In the space of a year, Sunderland have gone from the Premier League to League One and endured relentless managerial changes against the backdrop of financial mismanagement. Whoever said black cats were lucky?
Ross, however, is already shaping up to be the right man for the job. St Mirren were in danger of relegation to Scotland’s third tier when he took over in October 2016 but, less than two years later, the Buddies were cruising to the Championship title.
And his ability to stabilise a sinking ship is in evidence on Wearside, too.
Sunderland have won four out of six League One games; their best start to a season for 20 years. And the scary thing is that they are hardly out of second gear.
The Black Cats were poor against in-form Oxford United for large spells but still secured a point with ten men. They responded to conceding a third-minute goal at Gillingham by scoring four and also came from behind to beat AFC Wimbledon away from home.
Unlike some of the frankly pathetic performances under David Moyes, Simon Grayson, Chris Coleman and co, Sunderland are looking tougher and brimming with character, if not quality.
That is what Ross has brought to Sunderland – a spirit that has not been seen for years – and, in League One, that fighting spirit could not only keep them afloat but provide the platform for a return to the relative big time.
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