Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman has admitted that he doesn't expect to see Sunderland immediately challenge for promotion in the Championship next season.

The Black Cats finally secured a return to the second-tier last weekend by defeating Wycombe Wanderers in the League One play-off final.

Backed by 46,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, Sunderland's players stepped up to the mark in this particular fixture as they proved to be too good for their opponents.

Elliot Embleton gave his side the lead in the 12th minute as he fired a powerful effort past goalkeeper David Stockdale.

Ross Stewart then effectively ended Wycombe's hopes of getting back into the game in the second-half by scoring his 26th league goal of the campaign.

Given that the Championship is famed for its competitiveness, it will be interesting to see how long it will take Sunderland to get back into the swing of things as they have not featured at this level since 2018.

Ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, Goodman has offered an honest assessment on what he believes Sunderland should be looking to achieve in the second-tier.

Speaking on the latest episode of the Sky Sports EFL Podcast, Goodman said: "The general consensus is that it is a big gap between League One and the Championship.

"Looking back historically over the past three or four play-off final winners, Blackpool were the first one to survive this season in the last three years.

"Wycombe Wanderers before them, Charlton Athletic before them and Rotherham before them, they all found it very, very difficult.

"So it's about competing I think really, you can't get ahead of yourselves, you take what's on the table just like Luton, just like Huddersfield Town this season and just like Barnsley last season, you never know.

"But I can't imagine that the aim is an instant promotion but I'm sure they'll assess that when the season unravels really."

The Verdict

This is a fair assessment by Goodman as Sunderland ought to be prioritising consolidation in the Championship before launching a push for promotion.

Although the Black Cats are able to call upon the likes of Stewart and Alex Pritchard, they will need to add some more classy operators to their squad in the coming months.

In order to boost his side's chances of making a positive start to the upcoming campaign, Sunderland manager Alex Neil will need to make some shrewd moves in the transfer window.

By drafting in some individuals who have a proven track-record of delivering the goods in the Championship, there is every chance that the Black Cats will go on to achieve a relative amount of success at this level.