What Regis Le Bris and Sunderland's play-off rivals including Sheffield United are saying ahead of semi-finals

It is time for one last push from Regis Le Bris and his Sunderland players as they look to end the club’s eight-year absence from the Premier League.

After what has been a largely positive season at the Stadium of Light, the Black Cats secured fourth place in the Championship table and secured a place in the play-off places. Despite their underwhelming end to the campaign that brought a run of six games without a win, Le Bris’ side will be in confident mood as they prepare to travel to Coventry City for the first leg of their semi-final on Friday night before the two sides return to Wearside for the second leg at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday.

Sheffield United also landed a play-off spot after they slipped out of the race for automatic promotion and they will face Bristol City over two legs over the next week as the Robins look to return to the top flight of English football for the first time since 1980. As usual, the play-off semi-finals will bring the usual mix of unpredictability and tension and both ties will provide plenty of drama for supporters of all four clubs. But what about their managers? What have Liam Manning, Frank Lampard, Chris Wilder and Regis Le Bris said about the challenges that will await their sides as they look to take a step closer to the dream of promotion into the Premier League?

What has Liam Manning said about Bristol City and the Championship play-offs?

"When you look at it, what they have been through as well - honest, hard-working, putting the team ahead of themselves – we don't have any real egos or arrogance. It sounds easy, but it's difficult because they all want to play; they all have their own agendas; they all have ambitions, but to sacrifice yourself for the team is the most powerful thing you can do.

"The lads are all-in, you can see that. And I said it to them before [Preston], irrespective of the outcome, I couldn't be more thankful for what they have got me through, but also more proud of what they've achieved. It's not been easy, it's been difficult. The fact they've kept fighting, they've kept working. I never have to speak to them in training about how they apply themselves. Most groups, every few weeks you'll have to get into them about driving a standard. They're a fantastic group to work with, and they deserve all the plaudits that rightly should come their way."

What has Chris Wilder said about Sheffield United and the Championship play-offs?

“There’s negativity in football right the way through isn’t there? Whatever club you’re at, so everybody has to deal with that. But there’s no negativity in this group. I’ve been consistent in how the players have been energised after the Burnley game and determined to win a play-off campaign.

“The proof is in the pudding on Thursday night in our approach, but there’s no change in our approach – we’re going there to win. But we understand we’re going to have to play very well to win a football game at Ashton Gate in front of a very passionate and vociferous home crowd.”

What has Regis Le Bris said about Sunderland and the Championship play-offs?

"It was a big achievement to secure fourth place one month before the end of the season. That shows we were really consistent before, and with a short squad we decided to rotate on purpose with the target of having our best players available. And that is going to be the case. For everyone in the room here, you can consider that if you have 60% of your players available or 100% available it's not the same.

“Our target is to have everyone fit and if that's the case then it was the right idea [to rotate]. We respected all of our previous opponents but the story is the story. You can say during the pre-game presentation say this is play-off mode but the reality is it's not. It's different. They are professional but at the same time just one decision can change the dynamic of a game. For these games, the decision making will be really important and it's connected with the story. When we've played these games during the season [games that matter], the players have shown they are really well connected and they have learnt from their experience. I hope they will be at their top level."

What has Frank Lampard said about Coventry City and the Championship play-offs?

“The reality is that we need to prepare well for the games and try to play well in them because they’re a good team. No one be fooled by the five defeats, they’ve been in the play-offs a long time and that’s not easy to manage. They’ve still got very good players and a certain way of playing. We’re going to have to be at our best. We played them recently, so we have a pretty good idea of what they’re all about, we’ll obviously be watching their more recent games. We played them and played well, but this will be a completely different game.

“We’ve got a fair understanding of them, but we’ll be watching them closely. It’ll be about us mainly though, and what we do. But we have to be clear about the level of player that they have and the problems they try to create. I remember the last game well, but we’ll have to prep well. That’s going to be important because there’s not going to be much active on-pitch training in between. Physically, the boys need to recover.”

Your next Sunderland read: Sunderland star touted as viable Liverpool transfer option amid confirmed Anfield exit news