Jermain Defoe’s long-awaited return could prove to be a timely boost for Sunderland’s hopes of earning promotion back into the Championship.
The Black Cats’ season has stagnated somewhat and the patience of the board came to a head in the crushing 6-0 defeat to Bolton on Saturday.
Lee Johnson was relieved of his duties as the manager with Sunderland out of the automatic promotion places behind Rotherham and Wigan who both have games-in-hand.
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But in the midst of all the negativity surrounding the club, there were a couple of bits of really exciting news just an hour or two after the January transfer window closed.
The signings of Jay Matete and Defoe were completed with the announcement of the latter drawing some serious traction from supporters on Wearside.
The former Tottenham and England striker’s arrival will breathe some much-needed life and ambition into everyone at both the Academy and Stadium of Light.
His experience will be vital on the pitch and off it and, after admitting he has watched plenty of Sunderland matches this season, he is extremely confident the club have what it takes to earn promotion.
“Of course it’s a strong squad,” he told the club’s official YouTube channel. “I keep mentioning that belief but that’s the key thing and I’m looking forward to working with the younger players.
“Hopefully I can give them a lot, I’ll always be approachable, they can always come up to me and speak about anything. I’ll obviously keep them on their toes, make sure we’re all in it together, make sure everyone’s working because the reward is so big.
“All the sacrifices and the hard work are for something that’s special at the end so I want to give something back and help the younger lads to push the club back to where it should be.”
For the young players at the club, there are few better role models to learn from than Defoe. At the age of 39, he is still deemed as more than good enough to compete for a place in the Championship and his record at each of his former clubs speaks for itself.
You would be hard pushed to find anyone who has a bad word to say about him and his mentality to continue to pursue challenges at his age should inspire his new team mates.
“You have to be confident, it’s important to approach [promotion] like any other game, look to the next game and don’t look beyond that,” claimed Defoe.
“You have to have that belief in the dressing room and around the place that we can all do it collectively. You have to train hard every day, listen to the manager, whoever that will be, and stick to the game and believe we can do it.
“If you have the belief then nothing’s really stopping you."
Automatic promotion would, of course, be the preference for everyone involved with Sunderland but this season may well end with another play-off campaign.
The performances of Rotherham and Wigan have been relentless in their respective pushes for the top two positions in League One. Although, as Defoe mentioned, there must be a belief within the club that they are capable of catching both of those sides before May.
When asked what promotion would mean to him, he said: “That’s the reason why I’m here, to be honest. I love a challenge, that’s the main objective, we want to get promotion.
“Not only for me and the players but for the staff and for the fans as well, it would be so special for everyone involved with the football club.
“The boys probably don’t realise how special it would be, it’s always hard to get promotion in any league, it’s a tough ask but I believe that we can do it.
“I’ve watched loads of the games, all the signs are there. I’ve seen some good things from a lot of the lads so to get promotion would be so special for everyone.”
The charge towards the summit of the third tier must begin on Saturday when bottom of the table Doncaster make the trip to the Stadium of Light.
Whether or not a new manager will have been appointed by that stage remains to be seen but it is a must-win game regardless if the Black Cats are to have any chance of achieving automatic promotion.
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