'It looks very promising' - Kevin Phillips makes optimistic Sunderland statement despite play-off exit

Sunderland were knocked out of the Championship play-offs tonight by Luton Town.

Sunderland headed to Kenilworth Road for the second leg of their play-off semi-final with a 2-1 advantage, but a 2-0 win for the Hatters tonight sees them into the final at Wembley.

It's of course a disappointing night for Sunderland. But the Black Cats have set the Championship alight this season and Tony Mowbray and his players have earned a lot of plaudits.

And one of those plaudits is former player Kevin Phillips who was reporting for Sky Sports tonight.

After the game, he was asked what the future looks like for his former club, saying:

"I think it looks very promising. Very positive. They'll be hurting this evening, but once the dust settles, they'll reflect. A good summer, a good break and then if they can recruit well over the summer - which they have generally done - hopefully they'll challenge again next season.

"But he's [Tony Mowbray] done a magnificent job. To come in at a difficult time, to get them into the play-offs... As I say, they can be very proud of what they've achieved."

So few would've expected Sunderland to qualify for the play-offs this season. And they were strong contenders in the play-off picture too, but they were beaten by a much more physical Luton Town side tonight, who will be joined by either Middlesbrough or Coventry City in the final.

Despite a long-haul season with plenty of ups and downs, expect Mowbray and co to already be working on preparations for next season.

There's some gaps in the squad that need filling and a few loan players to replace - most notably Amad Diallo.

But like Phillips says, Sunderland's recruitment has been good season and if they can do more of the same this summer then they should be in top six contention again next time round.

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