Stability sufficient for Quinn â€“ for now

Published: 15 May 2010 - 09:46:58

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Stability sufficient for Quinn â€“ for now

IN Niall Quinn's perfect world, Sunderland would be playing at Wembley this afternoon for the right to win the FA Cup they last won 37 years ago. The fact they are not, according to the club's ambitious chairman, is not a cause for depression. After an eventful and, in many respects, rewarding campaign, Sunderland's season finished at Wolves last weekend, so their players are able to sit back, relax and watch the final unfold today. Quinn is certainly not upset at that prospect, pointing to the financial state Portsmouth find themselves in now as an example that things could be worse, far worse. Regardless of whether or not Portsmouth pull off the incredible and defeat Chelsea, Championship football will be played at Fratton Park next season. Pompey are said to be £134m in debt, with supporters thankful there is still the prospect of professional football being played at the south coast club next season. Under Quinn's chairmanship and Ellis Short's ownership, however, Sunderland have no such concerns. All they have to concentrate on is keeping their house in order and making further improvements. The stability of the club is essential. No-one mentions the word yo-yo anymore, said Quinn. That's a good thing. We are about to embark on our fourth year in the Premier League and that can only be a good thing. That yo-yo word is, hopefully, a distant memory. The financial stability of the club is fantastic. The club under my watch has a chance. That's comforting. When you look at Portsmouth playing in the Cup final and what has happened to them, would I swap a Cup final for that Certainly not. I'm pleased we are in a strong position financially. When Quinn first convinced the Drumaville consortium to buy out Bob Murray in 2006, he outlined an intention to deliver Europa football to the Stadium of Light within his first five years in charge. That leaves him with just 12 months to meet that target. He admits claiming a Europa League place next season might be fanciful, but he is satisfied progress has been made. We are just about to embark on our fifth year and I knew it would take a while for this club to become a force, said Quinn, knowing that a victory at Wolves last weekend could have ended with Sunderland breaking into the top ten. We are not where I want to be yet. That we finished so many points clear of the relegation zone, when just last season we were 20 minutes from going down, shows there has been improvement. Those are the bare figures. In terms of where the club has come and where we could be, I do think there is more improvement to come. I'm satisfied with what we have done, even if we have made mistakes. To stand a chance of closing the gap on the Premier League's top eight, Quinn and manager Steve Bruce have pinpointed a dreadful away record, rather than new players, as the key area to improve. There are eight clubs I'm very jealous of. There's the big four everyone knows. Then you have Man City and Spurs, Villa and Everton. They are an eightteam powerhouse, said Quinn. My view is that Sunderland has the potential to make that a nine-team group. There were times this season when I thought it could happen before our winter of discontent because of injuries and suspensions. With all the things we have in place, there's one major issue we all have to find a resolution to, that's our away form. Everyone will say this summer that we have to put our hands in our pockets and buy players. But we have done that. We have bought good players. We do have targets to add to the squad but the big push, and Steve thinks the same as me, is how to we address our away form. If we can find the key to that then I'm happy this progress will continue and that's something Steve and his staff will work on. Sunderland go to Portugal as part of their pre-season preparations and will play three fixtures at the Estadio Municipal in Albufeira. Steve Bruce's team will face League One Brighton on Wednesday, July 21 (9pm local time), and then Hull three days later (kick-off to be confirmed). The final game will see the Wearsiders play recently- crowned Portuguese champions Benfica for the Albufeira Cup on Tuesday, July 27 (9pm local time). Sunderland also play a Munster XI in Limerick, Ireland on July 13 before making the trip to Darlington four days later. Pictured Chairman Niall Quinn and Sunderland World Cup candidate host city director Chris Alexander unload the book at The Stadium of Light with the help of Mike Jones from G4S and youngsters representing Sunderland's partners from Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough and Carlisle.