The only objective for Sunderland last season was to win promotion, so the play-off final defeat to Charlton at Wembley means it was a disappointing campaign on the whole.

As a result, there is pressure starting to build on Jack Ross, with the fans not happy with how the final few months went and they certainly weren’t pleased with the style of play.

Therefore, the manager will have to implement changes over the summer and fans will take encouragement from the fact that midfielder Dylan McGeouch appears to be staying on Wearside.

His future appeared to be unclear, but the League One side confirmed on their official site yesterday evening that he has been retained.

When the former Hibs man joined 12 months ago he was seen as a real coup, however his time with the Black Cats didn’t go to plan. McGeouch played just 22 times last season and barely featured when things really mattered.

Yet, he clearly has quality and you could argue he is the most technically gifted player at the club.

Despite that, Ross regularly overlooked the Scotland international and went with the likes of Max Power, Lee Cattermole and Grant Leadbitter in the middle of the park.

Whilst they are all good players for the third tier, they were too similar and having two, or even three of them, in the same midfield often prevented Sunderland from playing the type of football the fans wanted to see.

So, with Ross needing to change things next season, he should turn to the ex-Celtic man and give him the chance to be a key figure in a new-look Black Cats side.

Once again, it’s all about winning promotion and even though he has had a very slow start to his Sunderland career, McGeouch could still be the crucial player many expected him to be.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.