TONY MOWBRAY is right to describe the current Sunderland squad as an ‘inexperienced group’. They have the lowest average age of any team in the Championship, and boast a host of players who are experiencing their first full season at senior level.

Scratch a little further beneath the surface though, and the notion that the Black Cats are completely devoid of top-level nous starts to disappear.

Danny Batth has been a professional for a decade-and-a-half, the vast majority of which was spent in the Championship. Dan Ballard might only be 23, but he initially joined Arsenal’s academy at the age of eight.

Alex Pritchard has played in the Premier League and Europa League with Tottenham, Amad Diallo cost Manchester United €25m and has played for Atalanta in the Champions League, Edouard Michut started for Paris St Germain in Ligue 1 and trained with Neymar and Lionel Messi. Joe Gelhardt might have been a bit-part player for Leeds, but he has still made 15 Premier League appearances this season.

Yes, the Black Cats are youthful. But they have also been drawn from some of the top teams in the world, resulting in a level of professionalism and standard-setting that is rubbing off on each and every member of the squad.

“It helps when you have people like Pritch, Amad, DB (Ballard), those people at the back who have been to the very, very top,” said Luke O’Nien, who is experiencing his first full season as a Championship player. “They are instrumental in the changing room and the things that people don’t see.

“They set the standard in training, and they’ve brought up the performances of everyone, including myself. When you play with that intensity and class, week, in week out in training, it makes you a better player.

The Northern Echo: Luke O'Nien scores Sunderland's opener against QPRLuke O'Nien scores Sunderland's opener against QPR (Image: Ian Horrocks)

“I think credit goes to a lot of the senior players and Amad, players that just keep raising the standard. I think everyone is just looking to improve off one another, and you can see that in the team’s performance.”

While Sunderland have made some major changes in the last 12 months, O’Nien is part of a core of players that have accompanied the Black Cats on their journey from League One.

The likes of Corry Evans, Dan Neil, Elliot Embleton, Pritchard and Ross Stewart all spent a considerable amount of time playing for Sunderland in the third tier, and their collective experiences help ensure the current squad remain grounded as they battle in the top half of the table.

With Tuesday’s win at Loftus Road having taken the Wearsiders back into the play-off positions for the first time since December, there is an understandable desire to ensure the battle for a top-six spot in a successful one. However, given that 12 months ago, Sunderland were losing to Cheltenham as their season threatened to unravel following the departure of Lee Johnson, there is also a determination not to ignore just how far the club have already come.

“Whatever happens in football, you have to pick yourself up and keep going again, and that’s what we’ve done all the way through,” said O’Nien. “We didn’t have the success in the past that we all wanted as quickly as we wanted, but I think that teaches us the lessons that we’re thriving on this season.

“We never dismiss history, and I’ve always said it’s the making of spending so long in League One that you rebuild, build stronger foundations and make sure it’s only up from here.”

O’Nien led the celebrations in front of more than 2,500 travelling supporters after Sunderland triumphed on Tuesday night, and the fans’ favourite was happy to have helped provide the red-and-white army with a Valentine’s Day to remember.

“We really enjoyed the evening, from back to front the subs that came on, it was just a top, top night,” he said. “The fans, everything, it was a really, really good evening.

“We got the goal, were solid defensively and when we needed Patta (Anthony Patterson), he delivers as always - the postman in the goal."