TOMMY MILLER expects the whole of Sunderland to be on a high this week as the full effect of being back in the Premiership hits Wearside.
The Stadium of Light is expecting its biggest crowd of the season so far on Saturday when Manchester United arrive in the North-East - the first of four mouthwatering fixtures in the Black Cats' next five games.
After a slow start to the campaign, Sunderland have found some confidence after taking five points from a possible nine and climbed out of the bottom three. And with Newcastle United and Arsenal, on two occasions, lined up to face Mick McCarthy's side in less than a month the squad are really beginning to feel they have arrived back in the big time.
Miller, who experienced a relegation battle from the top-flight during his days with Ipswich, can't wait to lock horns with the likes of Paul Scholes, Scott Parker and Cesc Fabregas in the middle of the field.
"The next couple of games are massive matches and they bring home just what the Premiership is all about," said Miller, who would love to extend his run of two goals in two games.
"Manchester United and Newcastle United - who would not like to play in fixtures like those?
"These games are what football is all about. It's why you play the game and why you work so hard to get to the very highest level. The whole place will be on a high later this week and these are the games that you look back on when your career is over.
"I've played in the UEFA Cup and the Premier League against Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool and it's the only place to be. When those opportunities are gone you wonder when you will have another bite at the cherry and the motivation to get back to that level is immense."
Miller knows that nothing can be taken for granted in the Premiership, but is optimistic about Sunderland's hopes of staying in the top flight. Having lost their opening five games back in the top league the critics all labelled McCarthy's men as relegation certainties - something that has remained despite their recent turnaround in form.
And Miller is calling for the rest of the Sunderland squad to stay focused on the task in hand and not get overawed by the whole occasion when the Red Devils arrive on Saturday.
"I'm going to try to take the next fortnight in my stride and enjoy the experience," said the 26-year-old, relishing the prospect of heading to St James' Park on October 23 to play in the first Tyne-Wear derby since April 2003.
"That's all you can do," he said. "It's a great time to play Manchester United because we've suddenly got a great deal of confidence. We're creating more chances, we're not conceding many goals and we'll give it a right good go.
"The season starts now. We've had the bedding-down period and we've put a few points on the board. The new players have begun to settle in and there's a lot more familiarity around the place.
"The last few performances have shown that we're making real progress and before that first point we weren't playing badly - we just weren't getting the breaks.
"We got punished in the early weeks because I suppose we were still adjusting to the step up. It takes time to gel together but we're bonding as a group. The lads who were already here have welcomed us in and that team spirit which underpinned Sunderland's performances last season is well and truly alive."
Sunderland's chances of causing a shock or four over the next month could be boosted if Stephen Elliott returns from international duty in high spirits. Elliott is still searching for his first Premiership goal but struck the goal which kept the Republic of Ireland's World Cup qualification hopes alive in Cyprus on Saturday.
Read more about Sunderland here.
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