Dan Neil pens message following Sunderland play-off success

Sunderland will once again be a Championship club next season after getting over their Wembley hoodoo to defeat Wycombe Wanderers 2-0 in Saturday’s League One play-off final.

The Black Cats’ previous appearances at England’s biggest stadium had seen them lose the third tier play-off final in 2019 to Charlton Athletic, and in the same year they also were defeated in the EFL Trophy final on penalties to Portsmouth.

But they were able to make it third time lucky when it mattered the most this past weekend, as goals from Elliot Embleton and Ross Stewart secured their Championship status for the first time since 2018.

Alex Neil arrived in February to replace Lee Johnson in the dugout and he was able to steady the ship at the Stadium of Light, but one player that barely featured under him was academy graduate Dan Neil.

The 20-year-old midfielder was a regular under Johnson in the first half of the season, however he started just three times under his Scottish namesake and did not play a single minute of Sunderland’s play-off campaign.

It was suggested that Neil was taken out of the team in recent months as a form of protection following a period of burnout, but he has emerged from the shadows to post a message following the club’s promotion.

A post shared by Dan Neil (@_danielneil)

The Verdict

It was a season of two halves for Neil, who will no doubt be happy enough with how everything transpired in the end.

Despite his inexperience, Neil was relied upon a lot to be the creative influence in Sunderland’s midfield when he was on the pitch, and his seven League One assists show that he can make things happen.

But there was perhaps an over-reliance on him at certain points, hence why Alex Neil took the youngster out of the firing