Alex Rae reflects on 'great times' at Sunderland ahead of special Stadium of Light reunion

Alex Rae says he still looks back fondly on his ‘great time’ at Sunderland as he gets ready for a special reunion this weekend.

Rae is the assistant manager at Reading and it will be his first return to the Stadium of Light as an opposition coach since an FA Cup tie against Notts County more than a decade ago.

The Scotsman spent five years as a player at Sunderland and, after a rough start, his time on Wearside coincided with the best years in the club’s modern history.

It is no wonder, then, that Sunderland is a club that is still very close to his heart.

“I had five good years there and quite a successful period,” Rae told Reading’s YouTube channel.

“Obviously transitioning from Roker Park to the Stadium of Light - it was just a good period and I thoroughly enjoyed that time in my career.

“It was great. Obviously my first year there was disappointing. We got relegated [from the Premier League] with 41 points, which in modern times would have kept you in the division. So that was a disappointment.

“We had the play-offs setback the following year, but the third year we managed to get 105 [points]. I think a couple of years later Reading surpassed that, so they must have gone some to break that record.

“Then we had a couple of good years when we just missed out on Europe. It was a great time. I often speak about different periods at different clubs, and Sunderland was without doubt one of the better ones.”

Rae left Sunderland in 2001 to join Wolves meaning it is nearly a quarter of a century since he was a player at the Stadium of Light.

However, there is one person who remains, and he can’t wait for a reunion.

“There's a lady in the tea-room called Audrey,” he said. “She serves in the player's lounge, and she was there when I joined. She'd been there for years. She's still there now.

“So it's a lady who's given maybe 40 to 50 years’ service to the football club. I can't wait to see her. I can introduce my kids, who are now 21 and she hasn't had a chance to meet.”

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