Alex Neil insists he is not 'power hungry' but will demand his high standards be met as he plots Sunderland's future beyond the end of the season. The Scot took over as head coach in February and has led the club to a play-off place, and to a Wembley final against Wycombe Wanderers a week on Saturday with promotion to the Championship the prize.
Neil arrived after the January transfer window had passed, meaning he had to work with the squad he inherited and he has repeatedly praised the group for the way they have responded. But, whichever division Sunderland are in next season, there will be changes over the summer as Neil looks to strengthen in key areas where they have found themselves shorthanded, including up front and also at full-back.
"That's your job as a manager," said Neil, of the way he has gone about getting the best out of the squad. "You see a lot of coaches going in to foreign teams where they don't sign players and all that sort of stuff.
"Providing you have an influence on what you want to do with the club and to take the club forward, that's the biggest thing for me. I'm not power hungry by any means, but I have standards that need to be adhered to and if they are not, that's not going to be acceptable.
"Thankfully here, it's been 'here's your team, win games', and that's what I enjoy."
Sunderland have a number of players out of contract in the summer, including Lee Burge, Lynden Gooch, Jordan Willis, Aiden McGeady, Bailey Wright, Arbenit Xhemajli, and Patrick Roberts, and decisions will have to be made by Neil and sporting director Kristjaan Speakman over which of those will be offered new terms. The Black Cats also have four loan players - Nathan Broadhead, Jack Clarke, Thorben Hoffmann, and Leon Dajaku - and they will also have to decide whether to try to bring any of them in on either a permanent basis, or another loan deal.
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