Sunderland boss Alex Neil delivers verdict on “pressure” ahead of Lincoln City clash

Sunderland have managed to push their way back into the top six so far this campaign and that’s exactly where they will want to be when the final whistle goes on the last day of the League One season.

Whether they can will ultimately depend on how they fare from now until then in terms of their results, performances and obviously how many points they can pick up. Ahead of what should be another tough test against Lincoln this weekend then, boss Alex Neil has revealed to the Sunderland Echo that he feels there is ‘more pressure’ on his side to come away with the three points this weekend than his opposition and admitted he is aware of that pressure.

The Black Cats have faltered at times this season and despite being mainly near the promotion spots for the vast majority of the campaign, the side decided to pull the trigger on former boss Lee Johnston after some bad results.

It led to a search for a new boss that ultimately landed Alex Neil the job – and despite a rocky start for him too, he has now found his feet and is helping his new team to plenty of points.

The side are now in the top six and firmly in the play-off hunt again and whilst they may fancy themselves to continue on their decent run of form this weekend, Lincoln will certainly not be an easy side to beat. Led by the superb Michael Appleton, it wasn’t that long ago that they too were fighting for promotion.

Alex Neil then is aware of the need for his team to get a win this weekend and to get more points – but did admit to the Sunderland Echo that he feels there is more pressure on his club than their opponents in this next fixture.

He said: “Of course we need points to try and stay in the top six to stay in the hunt to try and get out of the league. I’m sure