Football League World
·15 March 2025
Key Sunderland AFC figure drops Premier League ready claim

Football League World
·15 March 2025
Sunderland's chief business officer David Bruce has issued a Black Cats top flight claim.
Sunderland's chief business officer, David Bruce, believes the Black Cats will be ready for the demands of the Premier League should they win promotion this season.
The Black Cats have all but secured a play-off place ahead of their 38th game of the season against Coventry City this weekend.
Regis Le Bris has enjoyed a highly impressive debut season at the Stadium of Light, with some highly shrewd transfer business paired with the emergence of some excellent young stars providing the foundations for a strong campaign.
As a result, the Wearsiders are firmly in contention for a place in the Premier League heading into the final weeks of the season, a division the club hasn't been seen in since suffering relegation in 2017.
Speaking via The i Paper, Sunderland's chief business officer, David Bruce, has made a confident claim that the Black Cats will be ready for the Premier League should they be toasting the return of top flight football this summer.
He said: “I think that on and off the pitch we’re trying to build a world-class organisation.
“The Championship is a phenomenal league and fantastic product but if you’re in football you want to be in the top flight, which is where all the opportunities come.
“We want to build a world-class organisation that does things slightly differently on and off the pitch. From a mindset point of view we’re there.
“There’s a lot to do if you get to the Premier League, but we feel like we know what those things are and we’d be ready to turn them on quickly when that time happens, which is hopefully sooner rather than later.”
Both on and off the pitch, Sunderland appear to be in the healthiest place they've been in some time.
Le Bris' squad is littered with highly promising young talent, with the likes of Tommy Watson, Chris Rigg, Dan Neil, Jobe Bellingham and more all having the potential to hand the club some major paydays in the future.
They've seemingly found a manager who can lead the club into the future too, with the Frenchman showing himself to be a classy operator in his first season in the Stadium of Light dugout.
Their recruitment philosophy has seen some superb and shrewd investments being made in recent years, which is something that is a necessity to surviving in the Premier League should they reach the top flight.
As such, there are numerous positive indicators that Sunderland will be ready to meet the challenges they will face if/when they return to the promised land.
Therefore, even if it's not to be for the Black Cats this season, there would appear to be plenty of bright days ahead at the Stadium of Light.