Sunderland have hit a major roadblock in their hopes of securing automatic promotion this season.

After a wonderful second half of the season under Lee Johnson the Black Cats found themselves with their fate in their own hands just seven days ago with games in hand putting the club in control of their own destiny.

However the last few days have seen the Wearsiders suffer a real setback.

Sunderland lost at home against Charlton Athletic over the weekend, before taking on Wigan Athletic on Tuesday evening in a match that was seen as a must-win to help the club close the gap on Peterborough United and Hull City at the top of the table.

Despite taking the lead through Charlie Wyke, Johnson's side ended up losing 2-1 against the Latics, meaning that they're now five points behind the Posh with no more games in hand.

That means that Sunderland will be relying on those above them slipping up if they're to reach the top two.

While supporters may naturally be downbeat after such a setback, one former player is doing what he can to keep the club feeling positive.

Victor Anichibe played for the Black Cats between 2016 and 2017 and is clearly backing his former club to secure promotion after commenting on the club's social media post last month.

Responding to Sunderland's post on Instagram, Anichebe said: "Come on lads! Next game!"

 

 

The verdict

While this result was a huge setback, Victor Anichebe is right to demand positivity.

The pressure is probably off Sunderland now in terms of the automatic promotion race and so they can focus on getting back to winning way and building some momentum again.

There's plenty of games still to play and that means that the top two is still not out of the question.