Sunderland For Sure Still In Top Two Conversation – Former Championship Star | OneFootball

Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Former Championship star Cameron Jerome thinks that Sunderland are still in the conversation for automatic promotion despite their defeat against Hull City.

On Saturday, Sunderland suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of relegation-threatened Hull and they are now sitting fourth in the league table with 62 points from 34 games.

Now with 12 games remaining in the Championship for Regis Le Bris’ side, they are eight points off the last automatic playoff place, occupied by Sheffield United, as their hopes of achieving automatic promotion dwindle.

Jerome believes that Sunderland’s hopes of automatic promotion are still alive despite their defeat against Hull and insisted that the points gap between themselves and the top two places can still be closed down with good performances.

He pointed out that Sunderland are a young and energetic side and stressed that the Stadium of Light is a fabulous place to play when it is rocking.

When asked whether he considered Sunderland to be part of the race for automatic promotion after their defeat at the weekend, Jerome said on EFL All Access (11:20): “Yes, still Sunderland, because I think they are a good side. I have watched them a lot this year.

“They are young and energetic; the crowd up there at the Stadium of Light gets rocking; it is a fabulous place to play.

“I think they are ten points [13 points after Leeds United’s win on Monday] off the top of the table; that is, two or three games and that can happen in a week in the EFL, so they are still in the conversation for sure.”

Sunderland are aiming for promotion this season, but Le Bris’ side have struggled to find consistency and taken over the last six games, their record is only the 12th best in the Championship.

The Black Cats will know they need to become more consistent as the business end of the campaign approaches and they are next due to face Sheffield Wednesday away.