Peter Reid’s Sunderland promotion charge had gathered considerable pace since the turn of the year, and with just four points needed from the final four games to confirm the team would play in the top flight next season, the eyes of everyone associated with the club were turned to what would happen when we were promoted, rather than if.
The new ground project was underway, and the club’s final season at Roker Park would, it seemed, be played out – rather fittingly – in the top division.
On the morning
of our next game – at home to Barry Fry’s Birmingham City – the headlines in the paper were all focused on how Sunderland would approach the new season, with the club determined not to repeat the mistakes of six years previous, when they failed to back manager Denis Smith upon promotion.
When you look back at Peter Reid’s tenure as Sunderland manager, it’s easy to forget it wasn’t necessarily plain sailing to begin with. While on the field Reid worked wonders, he had to back the board into a corner for support. After his initial appointment kept us up, Reid was in no hurry to sign a permanent deal as manager – he waited until he’d had the right assurances from the board about a transfer budget.
And, similarly, while the team was preparing for this game against Birmingham, paper talk focused on the club’s ambitions for the following campaign. Reid, while ‘unlikely to walk away’ was said to be demanding assurances to ensure ‘he doesn’t fall flat on his face on a return to the big time’.
In the press, vice chairman John Fickling, said:
Substantial funds will be made available. We have to be looking at spending a fair amount of money – there’s no doubt about that. We have not discussed it in detail, but Peter Reid knows where he wants to be. There are rich pickings in the Premiership and we will do what is necessary.
The club will spend more money this summer than ever before in its history. We must take advantage of getting into the Premiership this time.
People have accused the board of not wanting promotion this season. Ideally, of course, we would have liked it to have coincided with the move to the new stadium but what happens on the pitch is much more important.
Having not lost in the last 15, Sunderland would equal a 73 year old club record for the best unbeaten league run in a season if they avoided defeat, and faced a Birmingham side who, in the words of their manager Barry Fry, had been ‘humiliated’ only a month earlier as Sunderland won the game far more convincingly than the 2-0 scoreline suggested.
This evening – with promotion virtually in the side’s grasp – they went one better, winning 3-0 against a City side containing former Sunderland midfielder John Cornforth.
Paul Stewart, who’d signed on a free transfer from Liverpool until the end of the season, had impressed up front without troubling the scoresheet. He’d been sent off at Barnsley a couple of weeks earlier, and with a three-game suspension looming, had been motivated to sign off on a high – and hopefully win a new contract, too.
And Stewart did himself no harm at all, turning in a man of the match peformance as Sunderland dominated from start to finish.
First, he set up Micky Gray to fire in a stunning goal from 30 yards after 18 minutes, then added a second himself three minutes later, heading home Martin Scott’s free kick.
His strong hold up play was pivotal for Sunderland, and he should have scored again just after the half hour, firing straight at the Birmingham keeper Bart Greimink.
Then, in the second half, he played in strike partner Craig Russell to slot home a third, and seal the win – leaving Sunderland just one point away from automatic promotion.
After the game, Reid was full of praise for the team.
What we have achieved in the last 12 months gives me more satisfaction than anything I ever achieved as a player. If we’re promoted on Sunday, that will be my best day in football, without a doubt.
I just want us to be mathematically certain before any celebration. All I will say is the white wine is out in the office and the champagne will have to be kept on ice.
The result, too, increased the pressure a little on the board too, with Fickling saying:
Our intention is to settle Peter Reid’s demands. We will not do anything until we know where we stand and promotion is guaranteed. After that, it is a case of looking at Peter’s case individually, and seeing what money is available. The directors need to ensure the club stays in the Premiership by providing the necessary funds.
