'Premier League club' - Aiden McGeady delivers verdict on Sunderland under Regis Le Bris

Former Sunderland winger Aiden McGeady has insisted that the Black Cats are a Premier League club in waiting, and that they are headed in the “right direction” for a return to the top flight under manager Regis Le Bris.

The Frenchman has overseen a superb start to the new Championship campaign, leading Sunderland to four wins in their opening four matches and conceding just one goal in the process. As a consequence, the Black Cats sit top of the table at the time of writing, and will be aiming to extend their eye-catching run when they face winless Plymouth Argyle in the league on Saturday afternoon.

For his part, McGeady has been impressed with what he has seen from his old club so far this term, and has voiced his belief that Sunderland are deserving of a spot amongst the biggest sides in English football.

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Speaking to Boylesports, he said: "Sunderland have started the season really well with the new manager, and the fans are desperate for a return to the Premier League. Back when I signed, we'd just been relegated, so that was 2017. You're going seven years to get back to the Premier League and you've had to suffer the heartache of getting relegated to League One and almost getting promoted on two or three occasions before finally getting back to even the Championship.

"But that club, that's a Premier League club. When you're playing for Sunderland in League One, opposition players would come and before the games when they were out on the pitch looking around and you could see them asking: 'What is this club doing in this league? But then again, we were there for a reason. We weren't good enough in the Championship the season before.

"But I loved my time at Sunderland. It's a great club with great people who deserve to be back in the Premier League and have that rivalry back with Newcastle because Newcastle have held it over the club for so long now. It's somewhat like Celtic and Rangers, there is constant back and forth between the clubs but Newcastle being in the Premier League for so long now and having their investment, Sunderland want to be back up there and they're going in the right direction."

McGeady spent five years on the books at the Stadium of Light, scoring 36 goals and assisting 35 more across 150 outings on Wearside. He joined Ayr United on a free transfer from Hibernian last summer, and is still active in the Scottish Championship at the age of 38.