Sunderland In The Europa League: A Chance To Make More History?

I have a feeling that we'll do very well in the Europa League this season.

Whilst we never really know what players and staff are thinking or preparing for, sometimes it's true that when the fans are up for a game, you can bet this feeds into the attitude and passion of the players.

Although everyone trots out the expected (and valid) remark that the Premier League is the bread and butter and must be the main focus, you can't tell me that a fixture such as Crystal Palace away can match a European fixture.

All the European games will be hotly contested by the squad and everyone will want to be involved, and I would hesitate to say more so than a Premier League game. I often bang on about the importance of psychology in sport, and in my opinion, it's the Europa League adventure that lights the touch paper for most players and fans.

So with that in mind, I do believe we'll certainly qualify directly for the knockout stages and quarter-finals. After that, anything is possible.

The biggest reason for belief in Sunderland 's success in the Europa League is the simple fact that we're one of the best teams in the Europa League.

The Opta supercomputer may seem to consistently underrate us in the Premier League, but right now it has Sunderland as the twenty ninth best team in the world — that's right, the world!

That's fifth-best of all Europa League teams, behind only Benfica, Bournemouth , Royale Union Saint-Gilloise and Bayer Leverkusen . Most importantly, it's better than every squad we'll play in the Europa League group stages as Milan (47), Lech Poznan (78) and Dinamo Zagreb (82) are the only ones under 100.

That said, I don't believe it'll be easy.

AZ Alkmaar at 105 gave us all we could handle at the Stadium of Light, and AC Milan and Lech Poznan are both on the road. But back to the positives: we're simply a very good team with very good players with a ton of experience in European play.

The players have to know the Europa League is the competition Sunderland has the best chance of winning this season, and I can't believe that won't have a a positive impact on their play throughout the competition.

The only thing that stands in the way of the quarter-finals (at worst) is poor health or Premier League relegation fears.

After watching Sunderland take on AZ Alkmaar earlier this month, it clarified a feeling inside of me that Sunderland simply have to give this European campaign absolutely everything, as it's simply what the fans deserve.

The comments will always come in the media, but what about the Premier League? Can they handle two games a week? Could it prompt a relegation battle?

Forget all that. This campaign is what I've been dreaming of since I started supporting Sunderland.

The unforgettable atmospheres. Playing teams you'd never dreamed of facing. Journeys to cities and towns that would never arise as a holiday spot. For Sunderland, while I hope it happens again, there's no certainties that it will and we have to give it everything.

Beating AZ was a brilliant start and eases the pressure on the group. We have some very difficult away ties but if our home form is strong, we're very likely to qualify and I think we have to view this as a "Why not?".

Why can't we go all the way? We proved last season that we can get results at difficult grounds — Anfield, Stamford Bridge and St. James' Park to name a few, and no club will enjoy a visit to the Stadium of Light on an evening with our atmosphere.

In the summer, Sunderland added depth and if we don't face unlucky periods with injuries including Brian Brobbey and Dan Ballard , we do have two players for every position and can rotate marginally, you'd expect.

Players like Chemsdine Talbi for example, aren't even getting any league minutes at present, which shows you how much we're building in a short period of time.

My huge hope is that we don't overly prioritise the league given what a unique opportunity this season for us as fans, as like I said, why can't we go deep into the competition and maybe, maybe just head to Frankfurt come May?

Embarking on a Europa League campaign marks a step into the unknown for Sunderland.

After years of futility and of watching the likes of Newcastle and Middlesbrough enjoy countless memorable European nights, we've been given key card access to a very exclusive members' lounge with panoramic views, high-definition TVs and a fully stocked minibar (Password in case of a lost key: "RégisLeBrisIsGod").

With that in mind, I suppose the issue is whether we're here to flirt with this competition in a brief yet glorious manner or whether we've already gotten a taste for it and are determined to challenge as strongly as we can.

My own belief is simple: we do have the players to make a real impact in this competition and in Régis Le Bris, we have a coach that'll relish the challenges posed by continental sides at home and away, but it's going to be the trickiest of balancing acts to ensure that we can remain competitive in the Premier League and retain genuine hopes of at least reaching the knockout stages of the Europa League.

The games will come thick and fast; rotation will occasionally be needed and we'll be placing fairly sizable demands on our fringe players to see games through, but this is life at this level. You have to find solutions and ways to deal with a packed schedule whilst never forgetting the fact that retaining our top flight status is — to say the least — absolutely paramount.

There'll be ups and downs to come and I think our home form will be essential, but given the vein of sheer, raw emotion we tapped into against AZ Alkmaar, why can't we do that again and use it as the bedrock for a successful campaign?

Either way, it's going to be a hell of a ride!