It's still early days in the Championship season but Sunderland supporters will be hoping for greater signs of consistency from Tony Mowbray's side to find themselves in the play-off zone come the end of the campaign once again.
The Black Cats currently sit in eighth place, just two points off the top six but a recent run of results including a 4-0 home derby defeat to Middlesbrough, followed by losses on the road to Stoke City and Leicester City were causes for concern.
Since then, Sunderland convincingly beat Norwich City and grabbed a point against 10-men Swansea City. Next up is a long trip to Plymouth Argyle before meetings with Huddersfield and Millwall ahead of a busy festive period that could make or break the campaign.
Given the up-and-down form of late, the Sunderland Echo looks at what the Championship table would look like based solely on the last 10 league fixtures.