Jack Clarke has hailed Sunderland as potentially the biggest club he’s been at after their 2-0 win over Wycombe Wanderers at Wembley earned promotion to the Championship. Goals from Elliott Embleton and Ross Stewart sealed the victory for Alex Neil’s side to end a four-year stay in the English third tier and banish the playoff hoodoo.
Clarke was controversially dropped for the final at the expense of local-lad Embleton, but Neil’s decision paid instant dividends as the 23-year-old - who has been with the club for 16 years - fired home the opener and played a pivotal role in the win.
Clarke came into the frey for Embleton on 61 minutes and caused Wanderers problems with his pace and dribbling as legs tired and minds became desperate. And he was the first to join Stewart after the strikers drilled finish found the bottom corner.
READ MORE: Sunderland 2-0 Wycombe player ratings as Alex Pritchard and Patrick Roberts impress on Wembley stage
"Obviously it feels amazing to get over the line.” Clarke said. “We worked so hard all season for stuff like this and we’ve had a few bumps in the road but we feel it’s fully deserved and we're just delighted to get the job done.
“It's massive pressure on us every single game but we go out there and give our best. Sometimes the results don't come out for us but the fans are still there. They stick by us and you can see today they came out in numbers and it was a big driving force that helped get us over the line in the end.
“It’s unbelievable. It’s what you dream of doing, playing at Wembley in front of thousands and thousands of fans and I'm just delighted that me and the boys could get the job done for all these people here.”
There’s no doubt that the Black Cats’ four-year hiatus from the Championship was a low-point for a massive club. And their return to the second-tier will be welcomed as a colossus of English footballing history moving closer to where it belongs.
And Clarke - who came through the ranks at Leeds United before signing for Tottenham - admitted that Sunderland are ‘right up there’ as the biggest club he’s been part of.
“It’s right up there.” He said. “As you can see today 46,000, meant to be League One - now Championship - and it’s only going to get bigger and better so it's right up there.”
And he, as with several others, remained coy about the celebrations to come: “Honestly I'm not too sure myself but I'm looking forward to it. You might see you might not.”
