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RUSSELL MARTIN GUIDED SOUTHAMPTON TO PROMOTION 12 MONTHS AGO 11:00, 26 May 2025 Russell Martin has told Sunderland not to make too many changes as they face the difficult task of trying to
compete in the Premier League next season. Sunderland sealed a return to the top flight after an eight-year absence by beating Sheffield United at Wembley. They defied the odds this season
under head coach Regis Le Bris to seal promotion despite having a squad with an average age of just 24. While celebrations will continue for some time yet, the club will eventually have to
turn attentions to next season and trying to compete in the Premier League, with an obvious aim of trying to avoid relegation. That’s easier said than done though, with the last six sides to
win promotion from the Championship all coming straight back down. Among them this season are Southampton, who were in the same position Sunderland are now this time last year after beating
Leeds United in the play-off final. In charge was Martin, who was therefore a qualified voice in looking ahead after his own fortunes quickly turned sour at St Mary’s. On what next for
Sunderland, Martin told Sky Sports: “He’s [Le Bris] made it look easy! I want him to enjoy this now because after the celebrations, the hard work really begins. He has a great group of young
players here and the best thing now would be to try and keep them all together after they’ve been on a real journey together. “He deserves a huge amount of credit for what he’s achieved
this season. They’ll all eventually start to realise the enormity of what’s just happened. It’s a huge job now. They would have been planning for two scenarios ahead of this summer because
you have to. That makes it even tougher because you don’t know what you’re going into. “Now they’ll have to get together and agree on the expectation and what the aim needs to be. That’s not
easy at all to do. They need to assess the areas to improve. They’ve had a long-term plan, it feels, with all the young players they’ve brought in. I don’t think they should sway too far
away from that. “The year they’ve had, with the age of their squad, all the energy, you can really see how much the crowd have been behind them. It’s great. You can see the manager really
trusts them and I would have thought they’ll want to carry that journey on together. That’s why Sunderland had to win today. Article continues below “I’m sure they will look to add and
improve their squad in their own way, and I’m sure it will be exciting to see them in the Premier League next season, especially with their fans and with their stadium. That’s a huge boost
to them and can be really advantageous. It will be interesting to see what happens there this summer.”