Hartlepool boss Dave Challinor has been extremely successful with his team over the course of the last year or so but today he spoke to The Northern Echo about some of the teams around him in the North East - and labelled Sunderland as a 'massive club.'

Hartlepool stormed back into the Football League last season with promotion into League Two and since their rise back into the fourth tier, they have continued to look strong. The club are currently sat in eighth place in the table and may even consider themselves as having an outside chance for the play-offs.

Challinor then has done some exceptional work with the side in getting them back to a position of solidity. However, the boss has today also commended some of the teams surrounding his club in the local North East area.

Sunderland for example are one of the teams he mentioned. The Black Cats are currently battling hard at the right end of League One and after two seasons of just missing out, will want to finally seal that promotion at the third time of asking.

Now, Challinor has spoken about what he thinks of the teams in the area. He told the Northern Echo: "People certainly from the local area would say it’s about time and you’d probably agree. I think it’s an area that’s been starved of genuine success for some time and I think the supporters of all the clubs, and I include Hartlepool in that up until a few years back, have all become a little bit glass half empty, a little bit pessimistic, a little bit ‘when never get any joy.

"I think there’s been shoots of optimism throughout. Thankfully from our perspective we’ve been really good on that and have probably got our success before Sunderland who are a massive club and should never be in League One, who are now in position where they look like they going to compete and can get themselves back into the Championship."

Challinor then has been full of praise for teams in the North East area then. If you're a fan of Sunderland, you'll be hoping he is right in his claim of the Black Cats potentially getting that elusive promotion and if you're a fan of Hartlepool, then you'll be hoping he continues to produce the goods as Pools boss and is able to keep it up and take them higher in the football pyramid.

The Verdict

The sides in the North East are strong at the moment are finally back on a bit of a good standing. Sunderland are certain title contenders for example and Boro are a tough team to beat under Neil Warnock.

Let's not also forget Hartlepool, who have impressed many over the course of the past two years. They've been very impressive under Challinor and the man in charge is reaping the benefits results wise. They could definitely go for the play-offs this year and push on from there. It once looked bleak for Pools - but now, it's a whole different story for the team.