Tony Mowbray makes ‘huge’ Sunderland admission ahead of West Brom clash
Tony Mowbray has given his opinion on Sunderland’s Premier League ambitions, as his West Brom side host the Black Cats on Saturday.
Mowbray was in charge at the Stadium of Light for 18 months, guiding Sunderland to the playoffs in his first season at the helm, where they were defeated by Luton Town in the semi-finals.
The 61-year-old manager was sacked in December 2023, and after a spell at Birmingham City was cut short due to health problems, he joined the Baggies at the start of the year.
Both Sunderland and West Brom are vying for promotion from the Championship, and as it stands, the pair would be involved in the playoffs at the end of the season.
Regis Le Bris’ side have won three of their last five, including a 1-0 win over Millwall last time out, so will be hoping to continue their decent run of form.
West Brom will have to pick themselves up after a late defeat to playoff rivals Norwich last weekend, and are looking for their first win in three.
Mowbray: Sunderland ‘worthy’ of a Premier League place
During his time at Sunderland, Mowbray came very close to ending the Mackems’ hiatus from the Premier League.
The Black Cats were leading their play-off semi-final 2-1 after the first leg, but ultimately fell short of securing a trip to Wembley.
Ahead of his first visit back to his former club, Mowbray has been speaking to BirminghamLive about Sunderland’s aspirations of reaching the top flight.
“It is a huge football club and well worthy of playing in the Premier League with the numbers and the atmosphere it can create,” he said.
| Position | Team | GP | GD | Pts |
| 3 | Burnley | 39 | 42 | 81 |
| 4 | Sunderland | 39 | 19 | 72 |
| 5 | Coventry | 39 | 5 | 59 |
| 6 | West Brom | 39 | 13 | 57 |
| 7 | Middlesbrough | 39 | 10 | 57 |
| 8 | Bristol City | 39 | 7 | 57 |
“I have only got good things to say about the supporters and the amazing club that it is and the facilities it’s got. It’s an honour to have Sunderland AFC on my CV along with some other pretty amazing successful managers in their history. There is no resentment from me.
“I really enjoyed it. We won lots of games. We developed lots of young players. It was and maybe still is the youngest team in the league for all my period there. We had a very young team but performed to good levels and won lots of games and made it exciting for the fans, I think. The current manager is doing just that as well.
“I wish them well but not better than us. Hopefully, there is a scenario where we could see them in the playoffs. It would be two amazing games. I think both teams would be a good addition to the Premier League but as would Leeds, Sheffield United and Burnley as well.”
West Brom v Sunderland has potential to be fiery
The game on Saturday is huge for both teams, as Sunderland look to keep their faint hopes of automatic promotion alive, and West Brom continue their fight for a top 6 finish.
Last season, both matches between the two sides were fiery affairs, with 14 yellow cards and one red card shown across the two games.
However, back in November, the reverse fixture at the Stadium of Light was a game of few chances, and ended in a goalless draw.
With so much on the line, though, expect to see a high-intensity contest at The Hawthorns.