Sunderland head coach Alex Neil has admitted that the club should be aiming to build gradually in the Championship this season.
The Black Cats marked their return to this division by securing a 1-1 draw with Coventry City at the Stadium of Light yesterday.
Sunderland opened the scoring in the 12th minute of this fixture as Jack Clarke headed home from Lynden Gooch's cross.
Coventry went close to netting an equaliser as Jonathan Panzo's effort was saved by Anthony Patterson.
Following the break, Matt Godden squandered a good opportunity for the Sky Blues before Ross Stewart was denied by Simon Moore.
Seemingly set to seal all three points in front of their supporters, Sunderland were denied victory in the 84th minute as Viktor Gyokeres fired past Patterson.
The Black Cats will now be looking ahead to their upcoming clash with Bristol City at Ashton Gate.
Making reference to his side's ambitions, Neil has admitted that it is going to take a bit of time for Sunderland to get into a position to challenge for a top-six finish.
Speaking to Chronicle Live, Neil said: "There's been a disparity at the club for a long period, and that makes for an anomaly.
"There's been a League One team for the last four seasons, a Premier League stadium, a Premier League fan base, a Premier League expectation, but the fact is that we need to recognise where we are.
"We all want to get there as quickly as we can.
"I would like nothing more than for someone to give me £50m, and say we expect you to finish in the top six - that'd make my job really, really, easy.
"The simple fact is that we are not doing that.
"Everybody talks about sustainability, doing it gradually, and taking baby steps, but the biggest difficulty that you're always going to have is that the fan base doesn't want to hear that.
"They want to win.
"They want to win all the time.
"That becomes difficult, but what I'm trying to do is to paint the picture of where we are, this is what we are trying to do, and it's going to take a bit of time."
The Verdict
Whereas Sunderland will be keen to make a positive impression in their first season back at this level, their main target for the current term will be to consolidate their place in the Championship.
Although Neil has admitted that the club will not be willing to spend a huge amount of money between now and the end of the transfer window, it wouldn't be surprising if they opt to add some more fresh faces to their squad.
The Black Cats have already secured the services of Daniel Ballard, Aji Alese, Clarke, Alex Bass and Ellis Simms this summer.
By drafting in some classy operators in the coming weeks, Sunderland will boost their chances of securing some positive results during the opening stages of the season.