Sunderland legend Kevin Phillips has thrown his support behind an EFL contingency plan he believes will benefit the Black Cats' promotion bid.
Reports earlier this week suggested Sunderland could enter a mini-tournament of the top eight teams in League One to decide promotion to the Championship in one of the new contingency plans being considered by the EFL.
Sunderland would be joined in the mini-tournament by Coventry, Rotherham, Oxford, Portsmouth, Fleetwood, Peterborough and Wycombe should the proposal go ahead.
How many teams would win promotion amid the proposals remain unclear, as does how the tournament would work. But Phillips believes it is an option Sunderland would definitely take after an upturn in form during 2020.
He told Football Insider: “It would almost be like the play-offs.
“When they come around everyone gets excited but as a player they are very nerve-wracking and edgy. A lot of high-pressure situations so whether that happens, I am not so sure.
“Sunderland would take it right now given the form that they had going into the break. Everyone would be on a level playing field then and it would be a knockout competition where the best team wins.
“It would be very exciting for the supporters I am sure but very, very nervewracking for the players.”
