“TOGETHER WE CAN TURN THIS AROUND” says Sunderland manager Coleman in an open letter to the fans

In the wake of yesterday’s reinvigorating victory over Derby County, Sunderland manager Chris Coleman has penned an open letter aimed directly at the supporters in a bid to encourage as many people as possible to attend Monday’s game with Sheffield Wednesday.

Despite still averaging big crowds the poor performances on the pitch have led to a decline over the course of the season.

But, with the club facing perhaps the biggest game in their recent history when the Owls arrive on Wearside, Coleman is keen to ensure that as many supporters as possible are there in order to help drag his team over the line in their search of three valuable points.

Getty Images

In the open letter, the former Wales and Fulham boss said:

The dust has settled and it’s time to go again.

Easter Monday’s game against Sheffield Wednesday is the biggest of our season so far, as we aim to build on a cracking win at Derby County.

Let’s make no bones about it, the Stadium of Light hasn’t been an easy place for us to play at this season and there’s been little for you to cheer about, with victories few and far between.

As a manager and as players we have to own that, and front up to it.

Back in August, 30,000 of you turned up to watch us begin our season with a point against Derby.

I’m sure many of you arrived that day believing we would be promotion contenders, while others predicted a solid campaign which would provide a platform to build from.

Few, if any, thought we would be scrapping for our lives with seven games remaining.

Okay, there will be no promotion party, no race for the top-six, or even a boring end to an average season, but none of that matters right now.

As a club, we need to put everything else to one side and fight for our future because, as we all know, it is worth fighting for.

On Friday, we reminded everyone that we’re still here and we will not give up, but we need to do it again on Monday and then again after that.

As a team we can’t do it alone. We need each and every one of you.

Perhaps we don’t deserve it, believe me I know this has been a tough season, and we can’t fix what we need to repair overnight.

But this club is worth fighting for, you know it and I know it.

We all feel it each and every time the first whistle sounds.

You can make it nigh on impossible for teams to play here, while giving us the confidence and belief we need to beat anyone.

So, let’s put it all to one side. And, for now, forget about everything other than Monday’s game and how good it will feel if we’ve clinched back-to-back wins come 5pm.

Together, we can turn this around.

See you Monday,

Chris

PA Images via Getty Images

Tickets for Monday’s game are priced at £25 for adults, £19 for over 65s, £16 for under 22s and £10 for kids. Most of us have the day off work and whilst the team have done very little to warrant your support in recent years we have to remember that we can play such a massive part should we choose to do so.

Please, if you can, get yourself along to the Stadium on Monday. As the manager quite rightly says, they cannot do this without us. The more seats that are filled the better - and who knows, we might just pick up the result we need to ensure we don’t go down without a fight.