Ex-Sunderland striker's verdict as Bolton Wanderers, Portsmouth & Ipswich Town miss out on play-offs

Former Sunderland striker Don Goodman believes Bolton Wanderers are among several sides in League One who might have expected to finish above Plymouth Argyle this season as the Devon side missed out on the play-offs.

The fight to get into the top six was a keenly contested and intense fight for the whole of the campaign in the third tier of English football.

On the final day of the season, MK Dons finished third with a 5-0 demolition on the road of Plymouth to set up a play-offs semi-final clash against Wycombe Wanderers.

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Sheffield Wednesday will meanwhile take on Sunderland in the other semi-final, as Argyle missed out on reaching the top six despite finishing on 80 points.

The Green Army finished above Oxford United in eighth, while Bolton finished in ninth and on 73 points, a good achievement given Ian Evatt's men were a newly promoted side this campaign.

Portsmouth and Ipswich Town meanwhile finished ninth and 10th respectively, while Charlton Athletic, another big name in the division, ended up 13th.

And speaking on the Sky Sports EFL podcast, former Sunderland, Wolves and West Bromwich Albion forward Goodman felt sympathy for Steven Schumacher's side as they narrowly missed out on the top six on the last day of the campaign.

And he believes that several big teams in the division will perhaps have expected to have finished above the Home Park side this season in what he feels has been the hardest of the three EFL leagues.

He said: "You've got to feel desperately sorry for them, haven't you, and it was going to be one of them wasn't it with a remarkable points total that was going to miss out. Unfortunately for