IT has been billed as a homecoming in the wake of the World Cup adventure that saw the Lionesses make it all the way to the final in Australia, and for two members of the England squad that will take on Scotland at the Stadium of Light tomorrow evening, that description rings especially true.

The Lionesses’ North-East contingent might have shrunk somewhat in recent years, with Jill Scott having retired and both Steph Houghton and Demi Stokes having been edged out of the international picture, and Beth Mead, who played for both Middlesbrough and Sunderland in the early years of her career, remains unavailable as she recovers from an ACL injury.

Nevertheless, former Sunderland duo Lucy Bronze and Jordan Nobbs will both hope to be involved when England play their first fixture in the inaugural Women’s Nations League tomorrow, underlining the strength of the bond that continues to connect the England Women’s team with the North-East in general, and Wearside in particular.

“It's the second time the Lionesses have come to the Stadium of Light, and that's really good for the region,” said current Sunderland Women head coach Mel Reay. “It means we can showcase women's football in the region and hopefully to try and get more people to come and support the women's team.

“It's going to be a sell-out, and we’ll be there in the fanzone as well before the game to promote what we’re all about as a team. The players will watch it and be visible for Sunderland fans to see us a women’s team.

“The weather played a pretty terrible part the last time the Lionesses were here, so it's huge for the area that they're coming back. It’s really good that we’re filling out the Stadium of Light to welcome them home.”

When Bronze and Nobbs were making their way into Sunderland’s senior set-up, the club were regularly competing for honours and could justifiably claim to be one of the leading women’s sides in the country.

A lot has changed since then, with Sunderland initially being denied a place in England’s top two leagues after the reorganisation that accompanied the advent of the Women’s Super League and the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal having poured vast sums into the development and strengthening of their respective women’s teams.

Given their current position outside the WSL, it is hard to envisage Sunderland, or for that matter Newcastle United, Middlesbrough or Durham Women, challenging for major honours in the next few seasons. Nevertheless, the Wearside production line continues to churn out top-class talent, with the next generation of North-East Lionessess potentially already in the England system.

“We still very much want to develop our players through the pathway that we've got,” said Reay. “The pathway we've got now is stronger than it has ever been before, because of our new professional game academy which bridges that gap between the Under-16s and the senior team.

“We’ve got Katy Watson and Grace Ede in the England Under-19s squad, they’re in the top 20 in the country and playing Championship football. They're not even 18 yet, so there are very few players of their age who can say that they're doing that.

“We've got Emily Cassap, who was the England Under-16 captain in our pathway. The conveyor belt is still working away as well as ever. Will we have senior Lionesses representing us while we’re at this level? No. But hopefully, as we grow and hopefully reach the WSL one day, which is ultimately our aspiration, then we will.”

To that end, Sunderland will continue to look to improve and grow, both on and off the pitch.

On the field, the Lady Black Cats have enjoyed a strong start to the season that sees them sitting in fourth position in the Championship table after the opening four matches.

Off it, there is a strong desire to increase attendances at the club’s Eppleton base, which is regarded as a more important long-term objective than chasing the short-term boost that might be gained by switching two or three league matches to the Stadium of Light.

“Where we're at as a club, we're still trying to grow,” said Reay. “If you look at our attendances, we're getting a good 500-600 in every week, but we want to get that up to 1,500 consistently.

“We've still got a bit of work to do off the pitch. You see the big crowds in the WSL, at the Emirates etc, but at our level, we want to get that 1,500 on a regular basis. Hopefully, having the Lionesses in the region will help because trying to grow that aspect of the game is still really important for us.”