Credit: Imago

Matthew Wilkinson

Tue 8 April 2025 15:00, UK

Sunderland are set for a crunch game against Norwich on Tuesday.

The Black Cats are looking to secure a place in the Championship playoffs, and while it would take a significant drop-off to miss out, they will not want to leave things to chance.

The Mackems are currently fourth in the league table with 75 points after what has been an impressive campaign, but the focus must be on continuing the momentum.

For automatic promotion to happen, Regis Le Bris’ men will need an almost perfect run-in, so there can be no outside distractions while still possible.

Tommy Watson should not start again for Sunderland

One player who is sadly causing a lot of outside noise right now is Tommy Watson, who is set to leave Sunderland at the end of this season.

Watson will be joining Brighton in the summer for £10million, and while that is beneficial to Sunderland from a financial perspective, it has weakened the team ahead of a potential promotion.

The fact that his departure was announced before the end of the season has had a negative impact due to the fan perception surrounding him, as people have questioned his commitment.

This situation was made worse when Ian Harte decided to post a message on social media that poked fun at Sunderland fans by calling them “fickle.”

The teenager didn’t help matters by liking the post before it was deleted, adding a lot of rage among the fan base heading into Tuesday’s game.

Watson should be benched

Given all the negativity surrounding Watson right now, it would be in Le Bris’s best interest to leave him on the bench against Norwich.

It’s hard to believe that fans will not want to get behind Watson, but any type of negative energy at this stage in the campaign isn’t worthwhile.

Watson does bring a lot of energy to his performances, though, and that’s something that could then be tapped into from the bench, where he might get the chance to win anyone over again.