Aaron Connolly sends message to Sunderland ahead of Championship playoffs
Aaron Connolly departed Sunderland in the winter transfer window, but only has good things to say about his former club.
The days are ticking down from the playoff semi-final, with Sunderland due to face Coventry on Friday (9 May) in the first of two legs.
Concerns are present on Wearside given the fact that the Black Cats are winless in their last six, losing their last five, but promotion aspirations are still very much there.
Sunderland will need to show a major improvement from the display in their recent 1-0 defeat to QPR, and Connolly has backed the lads to do just that.
Sunderland need to get off to a good start v Coventry
It has been 40 years since Sunderland last beat Coventry away from home, and over 18 years since they last beat them at all, though that will need to change if the play-off final is to be reached.
Sunderland have struggled against the Sky Blues this season, but all records are there to be broken, and what a time it would be to do it.
| Head-to-head | W | D | L |
| Sunderland | 12 | 18 | 18 |
| Coventry | 18 | 18 | 12 |
With that in mind, after missing out on the playoffs with Millwall, Connolly has sent his best wishes to his former side via a post on his Instagram.
It reads: “More clubs than Tiger Woods, but loving every minute. Sunderland, go get back where you should be.”
Regis Le Bris needs to motivate his side ahead of Coventry test
Performances haven’t been good enough lately, and people could probably come up with 100 different reasons as to why the regression has happened, though the likelihood is that it comes down to mentality.
Sunderland sealed the spot in the playoffs weeks ago, leaving them with nothing to play for until the playoffs.
Prior to that, the Black Cats were impressing on a regular basis, and Regis Le Bris need to get his side back to those levels once again.
With Dan Ballard fit again and the potential return of Romaine Mundle, there is no reason why the Mackems can’t end their miserable record against Coventry and put one foot in the final of the playoffs, and take one huge step toward promotion back to the Premier League.