Watch the Sky Bet League One play-off final between Sunderland and Wycombe Wanderers on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event from 2pm on Saturday; kick-off is at 3pm.
Thursday 19 May 2022 14:54, UK
Sunderland boss Alex Neil has played down expectations ahead of his side's Sky Bet League One play-off final with Wycombe, insisting he is wary of their opponents knowhow and experience.
The Black Cats finished above Wycombe in the table, and go into the tie at Wembley on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Football, as favourites to seal victory and promotion.
But Neil believes that Wycombe - who were in the Championship last season, while Sunderland have been in the third tier for four years - should not be underestimated.
Watch the full interview with Alex Neil on League of 72 below...
"They're a really difficult team to play against," the Sunderland boss told League of 72. "They're difficult to beat. The one thing they've got, which is a great trait in any team, is that they don't really need to play well to be dangerous.
"So even if you play well against them, they're the kind of team that can lull you into a false sense that you're doing well and then they can damage you.
"So we know we're going to have to be at our very best. We have to concentrate and strike that good balance of being defensively solid and carry a threat going the other way."
"It's going to be a tough game because of what they've got. They've been together for a long period of time and they were in the Championship last year. People talk about the history of both clubs, and they talk about it as if it's detrimental to them.
"But they've been in the Championship more recently than us, so the simple fact is they've been equipped to get out of this league before. That tells you in itself how difficult a game it's going to be. We won't be underestimating anyone.
"We'll play the way we believe will win us the game, which is how we play every game."
