Sunderland are preparing for their play-off final on Saturday where they will face Wycombe Wanderers to fight for promotion to the Championship. 

The game will be Sunderland's second play-off final in four seasons, after losing to Charlton Athletic in 2019, and although Neil is keen for his side to put in a good performance, he is well aware that the only thing that matters is the result.

The Black Cats boss came into the club in February at a time when Sunderland were moving away from the top six but has done well to get the club back up there and create a positive environment, as he told The Chronicle: "The main objective when I came in was to get results, to make sure we try and be successful, and when you have success everybody wants to be there and come and watch and be a part of it.

"We're in a really good place at the moment but the difficulty you have with play-offs is that there are only two possible outcomes - you're either going to be a hero or you're going to be hopeless. There's no in between.

"If we don't win the next game, it's not going to look good, is it? There's no middle ground - that's it in a nutshell.

"Nobody cares who gets the silver medal, do they?"

The Verdict: 

There's no doubting the brilliant job Alex Neil has done since coming into Sunderland this season, but he knows that results are what counts and if his side don't get a result on Saturday, they will receive a lot of criticism.

Any manager that comes into a club like Sunderland will be tasked with the job of getting the side to the play-offs and given the number of managers they've had since falling into League One only backs up that these demands are what are expected at the club.

However, regardless of the league Sunderland find themselves in next season, they would be foolish to get rid of Neil as what he has done with the club so far suggests he could have them competing next season after a full year in charge.

Both sides will be desperate for the win on Saturday and there's no doubt that whichever team misses out will have a very quiet dressing room.