CHRIS MEPHAM knows what it takes to win promotion from the Championship. In the 2021-22 season, the defender was part of the Bournemouth squad that made it to the Premier League as they finished second behind Fulham. Reasonably strongly fancied after missing out in the play-offs in the previous campaign, the Cherries withstood the pressure that was piled on their shoulders to successfully reach the Premier League.
Looking back, that Bournemouth side, under the tutelage of Scott Parker, was too good for the second tier. Lloyd Kelly, now of Juventus, played with the experienced Gary Cahill at the back. Philip Billing, now of Napoli, partnered Jefferson Lerma, now with Crystal Palace, at the heart of midfield. Dominic Solanke, who will hope to be involved with England tonight, finished the season with 29 league goals.
Mepham made 22 appearances at centre-half, and when he casts his eye over the Sunderland squad he now finds himself part of, the 27-year-old can see similarities to the Bournemouth team that enjoyed promotion success.
A touch of experience. Some hugely-exciting youngsters. An upwardly-mobile head coach making a name for himself in his second major managerial role. At Bournemouth, those were the ingredients for success. At Sunderland, their presence could yet result in a repeat.
“Fortunately, I was in a promotion team at Bournemouth,” said Mepham. “And there’s similarities, for sure, in terms of the character and individual brilliance in that team. We had people like Philip Billing, Dom Solankie, real special players, and this team's full of them – Riggy (Chris Rigg), Jobe (Bellingham), Wilson (Isidor), Eli (Mayenda), the list goes on.
“So, yeah, we’ve definitely got all the ingredients there. Ultimately, we just need to manage the momentum and make sure that we keep the right lads that aren’t getting the minutes they probably feel like they need because, at any given point, they can be so important. Hopefully, we’re in a really good place come the end of the season.”
The problem for Sunderland, at the minute, is getting to the end of the campaign. Eleven points adrift of the top two but 12 points clear of seventh position, the Black Cats are a in footballing no-man land.
READ MORE:
While Regis Le Bris can say all the right things about motivation and professionalism, Saturday’s result and performance at Coventry highlighted just how easy it is for standards to slip when the final outcome of a game does not really carry any jeopardy.
Can Sunderland’s players rediscover their focus and start generating some momentum ahead of what will almost certainly be a play-off campaign? Mepham hopes so.
“We’ve got eight games left, and hopefully we can get as many points as possible and put ourselves in a position where we're in a really good place,” he said. “If it isn't automatics, and it is the play-offs, then we've got to have momentum heading into that and I’m sure the rest will look after itself.”
In the season before they won promotion, Bournemouth lost to Brentford in the play-off semi-finals with Mepham featuring in both games. He came off the bench as the Cherries won the first leg of their semi at home, but was then sent off for hauling down Bryan Mbeumo as they lost 3-1 in the return game at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Sunderland boast a number of players with play-off experience – the likes of Anthony Patterson, Trai Hume, Luke O’Nien, Dan Neil and Patrick Roberts were all involved in the semi-final defeat to Luton Town two seasons ago – but their squad is perhaps lacking when it comes to older heads and leaders. Mepham, despite only being on loan from Bournemouth, ticks both boxes.
“Hopefully, I can help keep everyone really level and grounded, and use my experiences, good and bad,” said the centre-half. “I’ve had good moments where I obviously got promoted with Bournemouth, and then a not-so-good moment where in a play-off game I got sent off.
“So, like I said, hopefully I can use those experiences to help, not just myself, but to help the team more importantly.”
And if things were to go to plan over the course of the next two months, how could Mepham see Sunderland faring in the Premier League?
“Could Sunderland’s players step up to the Premier League? For sure,” he said. “I think, not over a couple of games, but over the course of a long season, they've shown their quality, week in, week out. I think the names I mentioned, along with many others in the team, could definitely get to that level.
“I think, at this stage, it's about consistency and staying level, Whether you win two games or lose two games, you have to stay quite neutral. Don’t get too high and don't get too low. I think that's really important now.”
