NO MATTER what happens in the final seven games of the season, Mick McCarthy is already guaranteed to be receiving some silverware in two months' time.

The Black Cats boss celebrates 25 years of marriage on May 24 - some two weeks after his Sunderland side entertain Stoke on the final weekend of the campaign.

Friends and family will ensure he is laden with picture frames, carriage clocks and tankards to mark the occasion.

But, after Saturday's hard-fought 1-0 win over Coventry took Sunderland two points clear at the top of the table, McCarthy's silver wedding gifts could yet be trumped by an even more cherished prize.

A brand new dinner set is all well and good, but it comes a poor second to the Championship trophy, a piece of silver that is now well within his grasp.

"I know I said I've been concentrating on football," said McCarthy, who recently confided that he had been waking up thinking about wingers instead of women. "But I think about one woman a lot - I've been married to her for 25 years.

"I think about her a lot because she spends a lot of her time in Bromley. I'll be seeing her this week when the lads are away.

"Somebody pointed out that my wedding anniversary was close to the end of the season, but it's coincided with May 24 every year since 1980.

"It's my silver wedding anniversary this year (so people will link it to the championship), but I can't change that. I wouldn't want to though - it's the best day of work I ever did."

Extending the contract of striker Chris Brown hardly falls into the same category but, in a footballing context at least, last week's developments are likely to give McCarthy similar satisfaction.

The 20-year-old, who recently put pen to paper on a new two-year deal, remains raw, rugged and relatively untried.

But, by settling a game that was drifting towards a disappointing and potentially disruptive draw, Brown ensured Sunderland would extend their winning run to six games and make the most of untimely slip-ups from both Wigan and Ipswich.

The 76th-minute winner was the third goal he has scored as a substitute this season and, while Stephen Elliott and Marcus Stewart remain McCarthy's first-choice frontline, a player who can come on to change the game is a valuable commodity at this stage of the season.

On Saturday, Sunderland had three of them - Andy Welsh and Sean Thornton also contributed to a pronounced second-half improvement that culminated in Brown's goal - and, while McCarthy has tended to stick with his starting XI, his squad players have all made important interventions over the course of the campaign.

"I put players on the bench with a view to them coming on and changing the game," explained the former Republic of Ireland boss. "They are vital. They are there to change games and they have done it again.

"I thought it was starting to affect Chris that he hadn't signed. I felt it was dragging on and I had been trying to get him to sign for the last eight games.

"I felt that a happy Chris Brown, signed up, would be a better proposition going into the game. Maybe that has proved to be the case.

"Andy gave us something different as well. Julio (Arca) is more of a ball player, but Andy can go and attack the full-back on the outside and run with it. He is more of a typical winger than even Julio is."

While Sunderland's internationals will now link up with their respective national sides, the rest of the squad will enjoy a well-earned break before gearing up for a final push to the Premiership.

"I want them to go and enjoy their time off," said McCarthy. "Whether they go home and see their families or they enjoy a few days in Spain in the sun - it's up to them.

"I don't mind as long as they do it responsibly and I'm sure they will. I'll be doing the same.

"I'm not going to get carried away.

"We're top of the league and it's great, but we've still got seven games to go. There was a suggestion I might have drink this week because I'm off. I might have one - in fact it's a racing cert."

Sunderland's players looked to have begun their holidays early during a soporific first half in which, had Coventry possessed a striker able to hit the target, the home side could well have found themselves behind.

Jeff Whitley endured one of his occasional off-days and, with Carl Robinson and Liam Lawrence proving equally ineffectual, the home side's midfield seemed to be indulging in a private battle to see who could display the worst first touch.

Whitley just about won that battle, although it was a close-run thing, and his error led to Claus Jorgensen firing narrowly over the crossbar after full-back Marcus Hall had found himself in acres of space on the left.

McCarthy's response was to introduce Thornton and Brown before the hour mark, and the former almost helped to forge a breakthrough when his corner was headed onto the base of the post by Stephen Wright.

The latter went equally as close three minutes later, steering a side-footed effort against the other upright after Stewart's battle with Steve Staunton had left him with a clear run on goal.

That miss looked like proving costly until, in front of the on-looking Kevin Phillips, Brown made amends with the kind of strike the former fans' favourite had made his own.

Stewart's intelligent lay-off forged an opening on the edge of the area, and Brown's drilled finish gave goalkeeper Ian Bennett no chance.

Result: Sunderland 1 Coventry 0.

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