Sunderland have finally found the man who has taken them back up to the Championship in Alex Neil - and Cameron Jerome has backed the boss to continue taking the Black Cats higher and higher, as he told Chronicle Live that he 'can see the pedigree' of Neil as a boss.

Alex Neil has had a solid run in the Football League when it comes to management so far, having most recently led Preston North End towards the top end of the Championship before being relieved of his duties after a dip in form.

He then took on the task of leading Sunderland from League One and up towards the second tier again - and despite having only half a campaign to send his new side in the right direction, he managed to book them a spot in the play-offs before sealing a Wembley victory to bag promotion.

Even before he managed this success with the Black Cats, Neil had proven he could be a solid manager in the EFL. He took Norwich up to the Premier League via the play-offs too to add another promotion to his CV and did similar in Scotland with Hamilton.

Neil then has proven he can be a serial winner and a manager who is no stranger to getting the job done at the right end of a division. Now, one of his former players in Cameron Jerome has backed the boss to continue the fine work he has done so far at Sunderland perhaps to be the man to take them one step further and into the Premier League.

Speaking to Chronicle Live about the manager and his capabilities in getting Sunderland promoted, the player said: "Absolutely [he can kick Sunderland on]. I've got a lot of time and respect for Alex, the job he's done has been remarkable.

"You can see the pedigree of him as a manager and he would have looked at that Sunderland job and went 'I fancy a bit of this, this is a bit of me, I can rise to the occasion and be the person to take Sunderland to the success of recent days, winning the Championship and if not up to the Premier League.' I think he'll take that in his stride and relish the challenge, having known what he's like."

The Verdict

Any doubts anyone had over Alex Neil's capabilities as a manager can surely be put to bed now with his latest success at Sunderland.

The job at the Stadium of Light was seen as a poison chalice in recent seasons, with managers doing well but never quite well enough with the club and falling at the final hurdle. Plenty have come and watched on as the side fell from the Premier League to the third tier of English football and then tried but failed to seal promotion.

Neil though has steadied the ship and has been a face of consistency over the course of the season, one that has helped the side to lose just once since he took over and has now sealed a promotion for the club when it seemed like hope was lost for the side this campaign.

He won't want to stop there though and will be desperate to keep the good times rolling at the Stadium of Light. Cameron Jerome might be right in his claims that the boss can push on with the club now - and if he does, then he could go down in the history books with the Black Cats.