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SUNDERLAND'S COACHING TEAM HAVE BEEN BLOWN AWAY BY THE IMPACT OF REACHING THE PLAY-OFF FINAL CLIVE YOULTON 12:11, 22 May 2025 Proud Sunderland first team coach Alessandro Barcherini has
paid tribute to the city and its supporters ahead of the Championship play-off final against Sheffield United. In a heartfelt LinkedIn post, Barcherini described feeling “truly privileged”
to be part of the club’s journey, highlighting the emotional weight of the evening when they beat Coventry City at the Stadium of Light thanks to Dan Ballard’s dramatic late goal. He praised
the backing from the Wearside faithful, in particular in that memorable play-off semi-final second leg and wrote: “Truly privileged to do what I do for a living and to have witnessed a
special moment at the Stadium of Light. The whole city turned up to back us and help us get over the line. Thank you.” More than 46,000 fans packed into the Stadium of Light as Regis Le
Bris’ side secured their place at Wembley, setting up Saturday’s crunch game. But despite the celebrations, Barcherini made it clear that the team’s focus remains firmly on the task ahead.
“We know the job isn’t finished. One game left this season. On to Wembley we go,” he added, signing off with: “‘TIL THE END.” Barcherini, was the club’s head of goalkeeping, but in February
stepped up to further support first-team requirements throughout the rest of the campaign. Tom Weal was appointed first team goalkeeper coach. The move came after Mike Dodds left his
position as assistant head coach with the Black Cats to take over as the new boss of League One side Wycombe Wanderers at the start of that month. Regis Le Bris and sporting director
Kristjaan Speakman decided against bringing in a new assistant to work alongside Pedro Ribeiro and Michael Proctor. Instead they decided to modify Barcherini’s role. Article continues below
Sunderland will reassess the coaching structure at the end of the season. Weal is only on a short-term contract until the summer.
