© Provided by Sunderland Nation on FanNationSunderland have said they could be looking for a second successive promotion this season.
Blackpool forward Shane Lavery has predicted that Sunderland will be in contention at the end of the Champions League season.
Lavery scored his second goal of the season as Blackpool held Sunderland to a 1-1 draw at Bloomfield Road.
That was settled by Ross Stewart's second-half equalizer as Sunderland dominated and Lavery said he was impressed with what the Black Cats produced.
Speaking of Sunderland after the game, Lavery said: "They are a great team, they should be there at the end of the season.
“They were in a good position so we had to work harder in the second half and a point is probably a fair result in the end.
Lavery's goal looked too soft from Sunderland's point of view, but they were able to enjoy the finish.
"I looked the other way to score and there was no one to cut so I just waited and the keeper sat down and tried to get a corner and luckily it hit the target," he said.
"We looked at the aggregate numbers after the game and it's very high, a lot of guys play three games a week there, so we have to play like we did today and get the results we want. We did it, we deserve what we're playing for.
They struggled a lot in the later stages of the game but we came back and did well in the challenge.
"A lot of boys are happy to rest before the next game, we have to regroup and look forward to the FA Cup and the Championship break."
