Southampton FC star Ross Stewart sends play-off message to Sunderland | OneFootball

The Black Cats have another opportunity to secure their Premier League return.

Southampton striker Ross Stewart is hoping to see his former side Sunderland win the play-offs and replace the Saints in the Premier League.

Moving from the northeast to the south coast two summers ago was fully justified when Stewart's new club achieved post-season success, beating Leeds United 2-0 in the play-off final at Wembley to secure their spot in this season's Premier League.

The return to the top that they'd worked so hard for was quickly spoiled, though, as it became very obvious that Southampton weren't going to be able to live with the standard of the Premier League.

If the Black Cats, who the 28-year-old Scot formerly found play-off success with, replicate Southampton's success of a year ago, by beating Coventry City in the semis and then one of Bristol City or Sheffield United in the final, then they will be the ones to join Burnley and Leeds United for next season's top flight campaign. Stewart wants to see it happen.

Ross Stewart backing Sunderland to reach the Premier League

The last time the Black Cats played in the post-season, they fell short against eventual winners Luton Town in the semis, but Stewart believes that a club of Sunderland's size should be represented in the Premier League.

"I’ll certainly be watching the next week or two in the Play-Offs and I wish them all the best," said the Southampton forward in an interview with the Wearside-based club. "I hope they achieve promotion. It's a club that should be playing in the Premier League."

The striker scored a couple of important goals the last time Sunderland won the play-offs, in 2022, beating Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 across two legs in the semi-final before easing past Wycombe Wanderers with a 2-0 win at the home of English football, with the second goal being scored by the Scot.

The major injury that he suffered in the following campaign against Fulham in the FA Cup meant that he was unable to help Tony Mowbray and his teammates the following season, when they were also involved in post-season action - this time in the Championship.

Sunderland must flip the switch to find play-off success

Going into this season's play-offs, Sunderland are in horrendous form. They've tasted defeat in their last five outings and haven't earned three points from a game for over a month now - AKA, precisely the type of run you do not want to have before, potentially, three cup finals.

But form can often go out of the window in the post-season. The Black Cats have known their destiny for a while now and haven't really had anything to fight for. Now they do. They have a reason to be at their best.

It's going to take a monumental shift to get them past Coventry alone, but the talent is there in Regis Le Bris' side to be able to make such a dramatic swing in performance.