​LENS, FRANCE – AUGUST 8: Sunderland coach Regis Le Bris talks to Granit Xhaka #34 of Sunderland during the pre-season friendly football match between RC Lens (RCL) and Sunderland AFC at Stade Bollaert-Delelis on August 8, 2026 in Lens, France. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images) | Getty Images Last summer felt surreal.After years spent clawing our way back through the divisions, Sunderland supporters found themselves preparing for a Premier League season again. There was excitement, certainly, but also uncertainty. Nobody quite knew what to expect. Every new signing was scrutinised through the same lens. Could they cope? Could the club cope? More importantly, could Sunderland prove they belonged?The mood feels different this time. The anticipation remains, but the nerves have softened. Sunderland enter a second consecutive Premier League campaign not as newcomers trying to find their feet, but as a club looking to build on what they have already achieved. Last season answered certain questions. Sunderland belong. The challenge now is discovering how much further this team can go.It feels like we have the blueprint.Last summer, every signing felt like a question. Twelve months later, they are no longer names on a transfer shortlist. They are Sunderland players, and supporters already sing their names. Many of them have become answers. That feels significant.For much of my life supporting Sunderland, progress meant recovery. Every successful season represented another step back towards where we felt the club belonged. Escaping League One. Returning to the Championship. Winning promotion. Re-establishing ourselves among the elite.The objective was always clear because the destination never changed. Get back. This season is different because Sunderland have already arrived. Improvement is no longer measured by league status. It is measured by growth. Growth of the club. Growth of the squad. Growth of the players who have carried Sunderland to this point.And perhaps that is where the excitement lies.Take Chris Rigg. Last season felt like confirmation. Supporters already knew what he was capable of, but the Premier League provided the stage on which everyone else could see it too. There is something remarkable about the way conversations surrounding him have changed. Not because expectations have lowered, but because they have risen so naturally. We no longer discuss whether he is ready. We discuss how good he might become.Régis Le Bris has already spoken about Rigg returning for pre-season a “different player”, and there have been signs of that on the pitch. The confidence seems greater. The influence seems greater.Frighteningly, he is still only 19 years old.Then there is Trai Hume, a footballer who seems to have spent much of his Sunderland career proving people wrong.Every step up has been accompanied by questions. Could he handle the Championship? Could he cope in the Premier League? Each time, he has answered those doubts the same way, by m