George Dobson has reiterated Sunderland's target of securing automatic promotion to the Championship.

After a poor start to the season, the Black Cats have been in wonderful form since the turn of the year and are now firmly in contention to finish in the top six of League One.

Saturday's victory over Ipswich Town has seen Phil Parkinson's side move back into the top six, but according to Dobson, the Wearsiders are firmly hoping to avoid the drama of the play-offs this time around.

As quoted by the Sunderland Echo, the midfielder said: “[Top two] 100 % has to be the aim.

"If you like at the table it's like a point difference between everyone, the gap is so small.
"Promotion will go to whoever can just sustain their run on a consistent basis.
"There's such a long way to go as well. We've still got 15 games to play so there's a lot of points to play for.
"We've just got to take each game as it comes." Can you name every Sunderland player's shirt number this season?   

The verdict

There's no reason why a top two finish can't be on the cards for Sunderland.

The Black Cats have been in wonderful form in 2020 and this is reflected in the much-improved league position.

There's plenty of work still to do if Sunderland are going to secure a play-off finish - not to mention if they're serious about finishing in the top two.

However with the quality at Phil Parkinson's disposal there's nothing to suggest that the Wearsiders don't have what it takes.