Former Sunderland striker Stephen Elliott believes Alex Neil's midfield offers real hope for the season after the way they played against Coventry City on Sunday.

Whilst the Black Cats were held to a 1-1 draw against the Sky Blues, it was a positive performance from the newly-promoted side, who were denied the win thanks to some individual brilliance by Viktor Gyökeres.

Going into the game, Neil admitted he didn't know what to expect from his team, but, writing in his Sunderland Echo column, Elliott offered reason for optimism as he praised the three midfielders for the way they combined.

"I felt the combination of Alex Pritchard, Dan Neil and Elliot Embleton looked to have the making of a decent attacking midfield. There was some great movement and rotating between the three on the pitch and in the first half, Coventry didn’t know how to stop them from dictating the game.

"The question of whether this squad can compete at this level was more than answered."

Neil's side are back in action this weekend when they travel to take on Bristol City.

The verdict

There were certainly signs of encouragement from the Black Cats on Sunday and the reality is that the were only denied the win thanks to a fine goal from Gyokeres.

As Elliott says, the first 45 minutes were particularly promising and the way the midfield worked will have pleased Neil.

Now though, it's about building on that and Sunderland will be hoping to get their first win when they make the long trip to Ashton Gate this weekend.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.