After some huge wins towards the end of last season, Sunderland managed to avoid relegation and lived to fight another day in the Premier League. 

This season while manager Gus Poyet will want an easier campaign, the chances are it may be very similar.

The arrival of Jack Rodwell would have been a major coup a few years ago but the England midfielder has a long list of injuries and hasn’t look like replicating his early Everton form for quite a while.

If Poyet can get him back to his best, than he should be able to drive the club forward and could prove vital as the season goes on. Especially with the depature of Jack Colback to rivals Newcastle.

One player who is hoping to continue the form from the back-end of last season is striker Connor Wickham. He scored some crucial goals but with 12 months remaining on his contract, there has been talk of him leaving now so as to avoid losing him on a free next summer.

West Ham have seen a bid rejected but should they come back in for the former Ipswich striker, the Black Cats may have to sell.

If that is the case, they will be hoping to bring back Fabio Borini who spent last season on loan at the stadium of light. Borini, currently at Liverpool, is stalling on a move due to his desire to stay at Anfield and fight for his place but Poyet is still hopeful that a move will happen soon.

For now though, the focus is on the first day of the season when they travel to West Brom. 

Games like this will be key to their league survival and taking points off the teams around them should enable them to avoid relegation.

Their victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge was Jose Mourinho’s first home defeat with the Blues in 78 games and gave the club the belief that they could stay up.

Wins like that this season are slim but can be done and can lift the confidence of the club. 

Their first chance will come in the second week of the season with Manchester United the visitors at the Stadium of Light.

The battle last season will stand them in good stead this season and they should have enough to avoid ending up in the same situation this year. If anything, a mid-table finish is more likely.