There's going to be a few nervous Black Cats' fans about this week as they face the prospect of a play-off place in League One.

There's a thought that with their resources and means they should have stormed League One, but a competitive division has seen them struggle to break free from the pursuing pack.

When you consider they've only lost three matches all season, half as many as the top two, their achievements are brought into context.

Their points tally would have been enough to secure the title in League Two, but instead they face the reality of needing results to go their way if they're to go up automatically.

They missed a golden chance to further their own claim on the top two with a draw against Portsmouth this weekend in a game that they simply had to win.

That result has given us some indication of where they go from here, with three clear lessons being learnt about the Black Cats.

Jack Ross doesn't trust Gooch

We know Aiden McGeady has been playing with an injury, we knew that Nathan Thompson would be looking to do a job on him.

Why, when there's a fit Lynden Gooch and the bench, does Ross risk a key player who might be needed for three more matches after the normal season?

We can only infer he doesn't trust the Under 23 graduate.

The money might not have been well spent on strikers

Will Grigg started on the bench and with respect to Charlie Wyke, he's not shown that he's capable of leading the line for Sunderland.

Between them they cost £5m but Josh Maja, an academy graduate, outscored both. Was it money well spent, or should they have searched elsewhere?

How hard should they have pushed for Lyle Taylor in pre-season?

Injuries have taken their toll

Even with a big squad, Sunderland looked to be down to the bare bones this weekend.

Grigg was on the bench, Cattermole has been struggling on both Oviedo and Ozturk got starts.

It doesn't bode well for the play-offs, not one bit.