Sunderland star Chris Rigg sends respectful message to Chris Wilder and Sheffield United
Ahead of next weekend’s Championship play-off final at Wembley, Sunderland teenager Chris Rigg has sent a kind message to Chris Wilder and Sheffield United.
After Wilder’s team thrashed Bristol City 6-0 in 180 minutes to give themselves a shot at an immediate return to the Premier League after relegation last season, Régis Le Bris defeated Coventry 3-2 on aggregate to advance to the final, and the Black Cats and Blades will square off in London.
“Sheffield United is a strong team, who were in the Premier League last season and are one game away from returning,” Rigg said to the team’s in-house media staff prior to the match. We’ve already played well against them twice this season, so it will be a tough test. Since these are the crucial moments, we are eager to take on the challenge and are already preparing for the final.
“We felt their support from the moment we left the Academy of Light,” the 17-year-old midfielder said, thanking Sunderland supporters for their support during the regular season and post-campaign play-off games. It felt like there was a tremendous wave of unity and a surge of momentum to go and do what we did at Coventry. We also brought them pride.
“All day Tuesday, I was excited about the game. The enthusiasm simply increased because the kickoff was later, and it was bouncing when we entered the ground for the warm-up. I couldn’t wait to play. It’s Wembley now. It doesn’t get much larger than my age of 17. To appear on a stage like that, in front of ninety thousand people… It’s the type of game you wish you could play.
Regardless of the result at Wembley, Régis Le Bris praised Sunderland’s campaign as a huge success. However, he maintains that his team is totally focused on completing the season as best they can.
Despite starting with a two-point deduction and easily defeating Bristol City 6-0 on aggregate in their semi-final, Sheffield United has accumulated 92 points during the regular season, so the head coach is not under any illusions about the challenge that awaits them in the Championship play-off final.
Sunderland’s players and staff were granted Wednesday off to recuperate after their thrilling and taxing two-leg victory against Coventry City. When they get back to the training facility on Thursday, they will start making serious preparations for the match at Wembley.
“It is very important to say that because you can win or lose at the end, but what we have lived together this season was absolutely brilliant. We cannot forget that,” Le Bris said of the season’s final performances. “But at the same time, it is really important to think about Wembley now and the final game we have to play. We have one more game. It will be another tough challenge, but we will be really focused on that game now. We will switch our attention to Wembley towards the end of the week, and then we will have a full week to prepare for the game. That is the next step for us going forward.”
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