Wycombe Wanderers manager Gareth Ainsworth has labelled Sunderland as 'probably the biggest club outside the Premier League.'

Ainsworth's Wycombe side make the relatively short trip to Wembley on Saturday where they meet Alex Neil's Sunderland, following what has been a campaign full of shifting emotions at The Stadium of Light. 

Both sides have managed to knock out higher-placed opposition in the semi-finals and will be battling out in the country's capital to secure promotion to the Championship. 

Speaking to Bucks Free Press about his managerial counterpart and the sheer size of Sunderland AFC ahead of this weekend's clash, Ainsworth said: “He’s done a brilliant job.

“He’s got some good players and it’s a tough job, Sunderland.

“I was publicly linked with that job a few years ago and it really is a tough, tough job when you find out just how big that club can be.

“They are probably the biggest club outside the Premier League.

“So for us to be playing them in a final is just phenomenal, and the job he has done so far has been fantastic.”

The verdict 

Neil has done an excellent job since taking charge of the Black Cats in February, restoring a feel-good factor around The Stadium of Light. 

As Ainsworth quite rightly hints at, when things are not going quite well, it is a difficult job, given the sheer size of the club and the ambitions that the fanbase hold. 

However, when someone gets it right, with Neil nearing those kind of levels, it is a rewarding role, and should promotion back to the second tier be secured, then his image would be further enhanced. 

It is set to be an entertaining final, with a clash of styles set to be deployed, something that was to Wycombe's advantage in the semi-final.