There is an almighty chasm between the Championship and the Premier League, so it was absolutely essential the football club spent this summer recruiting quality players who could help bridge the gap. I think we have done a very good job thus far.
The acquisition of Granit Xhaka, in particular, is startling. We are talking about a genuinely top-class midfield player who I reckon the majority of clubs in the Premier League would love to have in their squads. Yet he has come to Sunderland and is going to lead our charge as captain for the forthcoming season.
Our approach hasn’t been scattergun – it has been bold and calculated. If, come the end of the season, the worst happens and we go back down, at least we can say that we gave ourselves the best possible chance of staying up by strengthening our squad.
Having said that, I’m fearful because this is a very different Premier League to the one we left behind eight years ago.
It is the fear of the unknown more than anything. Even clubs who are smaller than Sunderland are propped up by many years of Premier League TV money and have the quality at their disposal to show for it.
I don’t think it is arrogant to suggest Sunderland are a bigger football club than Brentford, Brighton, Bournemouth or Fulham – among others – but it doesn’t matter one bit when these clubs have spent many years now in the top flight in receipt of the riches that come with being a part of the Premier League.
The playing field has never been less equal for promoted clubs, and that has shown in the fact the past six teams to have come up from the Championship have gone straight back down.
Sunderland are out to buck that trend, but it is going to be an incredibly tough season.
We have got to be ready not only for a battle, but to lick our wounds whenever we are on the end of a tanking, which will inevitably happen a lot more to us than it ever did during our eight-year stay in the EFL.
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