Sunderland manager Phil Parkinson has claimed that the quality on show in this season's League One promotion battle is as good as he has ever seen.

As things stand, there are just eight points covering league leaders Coventry and eight-placed Peterborough United at the top of the League One table, with all of those clubs having either ten or 11 games left to play.

Parkinson's side find themselves right in the middle of that battle, and currently sit fifth in the table, four points off an automatic promotion spot with ten games of their campaign remaining, and the Black Cats boss is well aware of the task facing his team if they are to secure a return to the Championship for next season.

Speaking to The Chronicle about that battle for promotion from League One, Parkinson said: "I think there’s definitely more quality in terms of the depth of quality than there has been for a long time.

“It’s really tight and there are some good sides. But we’re one of them, and we’re on as good a run as anybody."

There are still 30 league points for Sunderland to play for between now and the end of the campaign, although it seems Parkinson himself is preferring to take things game by game, as when asked about whether he has set his side a points target for the rest of the season, he responded: "We’ve not really set a points goal as it’s difficult to predict with so many teams on an amazing run. Some teams have stuttered – Rotherham at home to MK Dons last week, for example.

"If teams stutter then it’s important we make the most of the chance. We have to get back to making sure we improve on last week and we have to get better."

Next up for Sunderland is the visit of Gillingham - who in place are themselves just eight points of the play-off spots - at the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon.

The Verdict

It is hard to argue with Parkinson here.

With so many teams covered by so few points and just a handful of games to go, there are plenty of sides who will still believe they have the chance of securing promotion this season.

As a result, with a number of teams likely to be going all out, in pursuit of a place in the Championship, there could certainly be some thrilling League One encounters between now and the of the season.

For Sunderland themselves, the fact that they are still one of those sides in contention feels like a rather positive reflection on Parkinson himself, given the troubles he endured when he first took over at the Stadium of Light.