Gary Lineker has taken to Twitter to react after Sunderland returned to the Championship with a 2-0 win over Wycombe in the League One play-off final.
What’s the story?
Well, after years in the “wilderness” – as Lineker describes League One – the Black Cats have finally made their way back to England’s second tier.
Just months after replacing Lee Johnson, Alex Neil guided Sunderland to victory at Wembley thanks to goals from Elliot Embleton and Ross Stewart.
After the full-time whistle, Lineker hopped onto Twitter to share his thoughts on Sunderland’s achievement.
You can see what the BBC Match of the Day host wrote in full below.
According to the Guardian, Neil is only on a 12-month rolling contract at the Stadium of Light.
However, after guiding Sunderland back to the Championship at the first time of asking, the 40-year-old will surely receive improved terms now.
Following the victory over Wycombe, Neil told Sky Sports: “We aspire to be even better than a Championship club. Days like today, for this club, only matter if you win. The biggest pressure was from myself, I didn’t want to manage in League One, so I had to try and get the club out of League One.”
Sunderland must learn from their mistakes
As we all saw in the popular Netflix documentary Sunderland ‘Til I Die, the Black Cats have made plenty of mistakes over the years.
Signing Jack Rodwell was one of the biggest errors, if not the biggest.
However, there have been plenty of positive steps taken in 2022, and if Sunderland get their recruitment right this summer, then anything is possible next season.
In our view, Sunderland are a massive club, and they belong in the Premier League.
They have spent far too long in the wilderness, and it’s time for this sleeping giant to wake up – the first step has now been taken.
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