Carl Winchester has described his two-and-a-half year stint at Sunderland as 'a privilege' as he prepares to leave Wearside this summer. The Northern Irishman is the Black Cats' only senior player out of contract this summer and will depart when his deal expires at the end of the month.
The 30-year-old midfielder joined the club from League Two Forest Green Rovers in January 2021, becoming the first signing since Kristjaan Speakman was appointed as sporting director the previous month, which meant Winchester was reunited with his former Oldham Athletic boss Lee Johnson, who was then head coach at Sunderland. He made a dozen starts in the second half of the 2020-21 campaign, but he came into his own the following season as he played 40 games - the majority at right-back and also at times in central defence - to help Sunderland win promotion from League One, although injury meant he missed the run-in and the Wembley play-off final win under Johnson's successor Alex Neil.
"When the interest came, I couldn't believe it - Sunderland wanting a player from a lower league, when usually you would think they would be trying to get players from the Championship or the Premier League," Winchester told Sunderland's SAFC Unfiltered podcast, of his move from Forest Green. "It was just a privilege to come and as soon as I knew there was interest, I was just saying 'get it done, get it done straightaway' because I was so excited.
READ MORE: Sunderland transfer target helps his side stun favourites to win A-League Grand Final
"Don't get me wrong, it was a big challenge for me because I'd never really played for a club of that size and with that kind of fanbase, so it was new to me but it was an exciting challenge and I knew it was one that I wanted to pursue in my career. I loved my time at Sunderland - it was unbelievable,"
"I came in as a centre-mid and ended up playing right-back but when you are playing for a club like Sunderland, whether you are asked to play at centre-back, right-back, left-back, wherever it might be, I feel it should be a privilege just to go out there. How many kids from Sunderland - or anywhere - wish they could play for a team like that?
"You're out there representing them and your family."
Winchester also spoke about the atmosphere at the Stadium of Light when the fans sing club anthem 'Can't Help Falling In Love'. He said: "When the song used to come up, I used to just sit and look around the stadium and the whole stadium would sing it.
"It would give you goosebumps and you'd think 'OK, let's go, I'm ready for this'. It would get you geed up for it and ready to go and attack.
"Playing in that atmosphere and in front of those fans would give you that extra ten per cent. If you do well, you can make everyone in that stadium go home happy and it's a privilege to be able to do that."
Winchester suffered a groin injury in a 5-1 home win against Cambridge United in April 2022 which ruled him out of the last two league games of the promotion season and also the play-offs. He said: "It was a groin injury, and I went and got a scan and it showed a tear.
"That meant my season was completely done, even though there was only a short period left and the play-offs, and I was devastated. I knew as soon as I'd done it that something wasn't right, because usually if I get a niggle or a bang or a whack then I can usually just take it and play on but that time I knew I couldn't do that.
"At the end of the day, there was nothing I could do about it and I just had to get my head right and get back for the next season. I was gutted [to miss out on Wembley]. I sat embracing the atmosphere and looking around thinking 'wow, I wish I could play in this, it would just be unbelievable'.
"At the end of the day, though, I was just happy the lads got the job done. I had faith in them, they were a great group of players and they gelled well together.
"I just knew that if we were on our game we would go on and win the play-offs. I was happy for everyone involved with the club - fans, manager, staff, players.
"Sunderland is a club that didn't deserve to be in League One, and now they are on the up I am just buzzing to see it."
With Sunderland recruiting new players last summer ready for the step up to the Championship, Winchester spent the season on loan at League One Shrewsbury Town. "The club was saying it was bringing in new players, I had a year left on my contract and I felt it was probably better for me to go somewhere else and getting more game time to put myself in the shop window to maybe get a deal somewhere else," he said.
"[If I'd stayed] I probably wouldn't have played as much as I would have liked, which was understandable because of the calibre of players they brought into the club and how well they did."
And of his time at Shrewsbury, he added: "It was good, they're a good group of lads, and I really enjoyed my time there. They had a small squad and a couple of injuries as well.
"I think if everyone had been fit and we'd added one or two we might have had a push - I'm not saying at the play-offs, but probably between eighth and tenth. The lads and the staff there were brilliant with me, so I can't complain much."
Winchester is a free agent this summer and does not yet know where he will end up. He said: "That's the thing with football, you just don't know where you are going to be.
"I'm a free agent now and there are one or two things - nothing concrete, but it's still early days."
READ NEXT
- Sunderland linked with experienced Dutch midfielder who could act as cover for Corry Evans
- Sunderland target a 'future international' as Nectar Triantis hailed by Mariners coach
- Sunderland closing in on Australia youngster Nectarios Triantis according to report
- Amad Diallo loan proves Manchester United 'right' amid hopes he can make the grade
- Tony Mowbray explains the positives Sunderland can take from their patched-up side
