THIS time last year, Sunderland were preparing for the start of the season accepting that consolidation was the main priority on the back of winning promotion from League One. Twelve months on, and the Black Cats are looking ahead to the new Championship campaign with their sights set considerably higher.

Having eventually finished in sixth position last season, before going on to lose in the play-off semi-finals to Luton Town, there is an acceptance that another top-six finish has to be a minimum requirement this term.

Yes, the Championship looks more competitive than ever with Leicester City, Leeds United and Southampton all preparing to flex their muscles after relegation from the top-flight and the likes of Norwich City, Watford, Middlesbrough and West Brom all determined to improve on last term.

Sunderland have earned the right to be considered part of the promotion mix though, and their defender, Luke O’Nien, is not shying away from the challenge of raised ambitions.

“I think it’s important to drive high,” said O’Nien. “I think this club has always done that, and it’s no different for us. We’ve set a base level last year, and it’s important we build on that and try to get better every single year. 

“Ever since I’ve been here, that’s been the case in each of the last five years, we’ve always been looking to try to get better. I’m in my sixth season now, and that’s always the case.

“Confidence comes from the past, and what you’ve done. What we did last season can only give us more confidence because you get confidence from doing things. Being there and doing it can only help us.”

That said, however, things can often get more difficult as time passes. Last season, Sunderland were riding the crest of a wave following the euphoria of their play-off final victory at Wembley, and were something of an unknown quantity at Championship level with so many untried youngsters in their squad.

READ MORE:

This time around, opposition teams will know what to expect from the likes of Anthony Patterson, Trai Hume, Dan Neil and Pierre Ekwah, and Sunderland’s players will have to cope with the increased expectation that will inevitably be piled on their shoulders.

“Sometimes, second seasons can be a different challenge because your blueprint is out there and other teams can get a bit more familiar with you,” admitted O’Nien. “That’s going to be a really nice challenge for us going into this season because teams are familiar with us and that might change the way they’re going to try to stop us because they’ve seen us now instead of us having that element of surprise.

“But that’s only going to help us grow and develop if we can get over that problem as well. I just see it that we’re in a really good position and really looking forward to the season. There’s going to be challenges and problems thrown at every team, and you just have to overcome it.”

The challenge begins on August 6, when Sunderland kick off the new campaign with a home game against newly-promoted Ipswich Town, but between now and then, Tony Mowbray’s side will fine-tune their preparations with a series of friendlies, starting with the three matches that will form their US tour in the next week-and-a-half.

“We’ll be going into every game believing we can get points, but we’ve got to do a lot of work between then and now,” said O’Nien. “It’s a familiar feeling, and we know what we want to do. We’ve got to look forward to America because it’s important to put in the foundations by putting in the performances now.”