WHEN Patrick Roberts signed for Sunderland in January 2022, he was adamant he was joining a Premier League club in waiting. His first game, for that aspiring top-flight club, was a 6-0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers in League One. His second was a 2-1 loss at Cheltenham. Premier League? Sunderland weren’t at the races.
Fast forward a little over three years, though, and Roberts’ bold proclamation no longer feels so far-fetched. Promotion back to the Championship has been achieved, with Roberts having scored the goal at Hillsborough in the play-off semi-final that was so crucial to getting the Black Cats out of the third tier.
Life in the Championship has had its ups and downs, but after losing to Luton Town in the play-off semi-finals in their first season back in the division, Sunderland have successfully got themselves back into the play-offs in their third campaign as a second-tier club.
They take on Coventry City at the CBS Arena tomorrow night, before hosting Frank Lampard’s side in the return leg on Wearside next Tuesday. Win over the course of the two matches, and they will head to Wembley later in the month to face either Sheffield United or Bristol City. Three games away from the Premier League. Three games away from realising Roberts’ ambitions.
“You never know how long you're going to stay at places,” said the 28-year-old, whose itinerant career included loan spells at Celtic, Girona, Norwich, Middlesbrough, Derby and Troyes before he finally found a home on Wearside. “Coming to this club, I got an opportunity when I was probably falling away in my career.
“I was grateful enough to get an opportunity here to play, it was only for the first six months - see how that went. Obviously, that got extended another time and then extended again. I've got a lot of gratitude towards Sunderland for bringing me here and letting me play my football.
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“I’ve enjoyed every minute, although there's not many that were part of that League One team that's still here. Obviously, Luke (O’Nien), Dennis (Cirkin) has been around. Trai (Hume) didn't feature much then, but he's been around since then. He's been brought up with that culture and our way of how we do things here.
“I said when I first came, the objective was to get out of League One and go to the Premier League. I still stand by, we can do that, and I can bring that to this club. It's all about putting all this stuff onto the pitch and getting it done.
“We did it three or four years ago. We did it out of League One, which was a struggle in itself. We’ve got an even bigger test now, but all the players are ready, and it would mean the world to me. I'm looking forward to the first two games.”
While Sunderland’s young team have been riding the crest of a wave for the majority of the season, momentum has stalled in the last month. Assured of a place in the play-offs, but unable to force their way into the top two, the Black Cats failed to win any of their final six matches of the regular Championship season.
A problem? Roberts understands why, amongst a sizeable proportion of the fanbase, anxiety has set in. Internally, however, the winger insists the Sunderland squad are not concerned by the way the last few weeks have played out.
“Obviously, from a fan point of view and maybe an outside point of view, you just see what's going on, on the weekend, and you gauge off that,” he said, in an interview with BBC Newcastle. “There's been a good morale.
“If you've been in a similar position throughout the season and you lock something up early, like we did, maybe you can see a bit of complacency. But I think the idea and the determination and the motivation to go into these play-offs has always been the same since the start of the season. It's not changed from day one, (when) the manager came in.
“They're going to be big games. I've played a fair few big games in my time, so I know what it feels like. I know how you can get up for it.
“A lot of lads here maybe haven't played in these kind of games, so it'll be a first experience for them. You've got to guide them through it. You can't let the occasion get the better of you, it's still a game of football at the end of the day.”
Regis Le Bris will play a crucial role in ensuring his players are ready for whatever is thrown at them in the next two games, with the head coach having settled seamlessly into life in the Championship after moving to Wearside from Lorient last summer.
“The boss is very analytical,” said Roberts. “Even from the first day, he has been very open, always there for a chat, always there for ideas. But he also has his brand and way of playing that he sticks by. A lot of players bought into that, and he's followed that the whole season.
“He's done well considering it's his first season in English football, as it can be difficult. He's been a pleasure to work with, and he'll have ideas and game-plans ready for these next few games.”
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