Jack Ross reflects on Luton Town and Barnsley's promotion and where Sunderland have fallen short ahead of crucial play-off campaign

An anomaly, given the way that five sides have so comprehensively distanced themselves from the rest and all, at one stage at least, having looked like favourites to go up automatically.

Sunderland have never been far off but ultimately fell short.

Luton Town and Barnsley sealed their promotion status on Tuesday night and no one on Wearside would say they did not deserve it.

For the Black Cats the chance for promotion remains but they will have to go through the lottery of the play-offs.

On the pitch, there are obvious shortcoming to address but it is also fair to say that off it, there is much to consider too.

Sunderland have obvious advantages in their facilities and attendances but they remain a club rebuilding and reasserting itself.

So when Ross considers why his side have not been able to get over the line, that is one factor to take into account.

“I do reflect a lot but the bigger reflection will come at the end of the season when you assess everything you did,” Ross said.

“Probably at this time it’s not appropriate to look publicly at what you might have done differently.

“With regards to the team, I think, very obviously, the longer a team is together, the greater continuity there is in terms of the squad and how everything is going to work. That helps.

“It’s not an excuse for us not to finish in the top two but the truth is both of those squads had more continuity about them.

“And also, both those teams have an element of a model behind them,” he added.

“Barnsley’s is probably the easiest one to identify with because they have a kind of age range in what they sign, a model in terms of when they turnover players at a certain stage of their contracts.

“They use a lot stats in how they recruit etc.They have a clear model.