It was yet another tumultuous season for Sunderland during the 2014-15 campaign, with a change of manager and a relegation battle to contend with.
Gus Poyet was sacked in March following a disastrous run of results before Dick Adovcaat was brought in to guide the team to eventual safety.
There was some joy to be had in the form of a double over local rivals Newcastle United, but everyone at the club will be eager to avoid a third consecutive fight for survival next term.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at how the Wearsiders fared across the season.
August
After a busy summer in the transfer window that saw seven players arrive and 15 depart, Sunderland began the new Premier League season in underwhelming fashion with two draws and a defeat. A sign of things to come, if ever there was one.
The Black Cats snatched a point at West Bromwich Albion on the opening day before fighting back to share the spoils with Manchester United at the Stadium of Light as Jack Rodwell struck to cancel out Juan Mata's opener.
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Despite taking a point off the former champions, that draw with United failed to lift Gus Poyet's side, who finished the month with a 1-0 loss at newly-promoted Queens Park Rangers.
Meanwhile, having gone all the way to the final last season, Sunderland cruised into the third round of the League Cup thanks to a comfortable 3-0 triumph at Birmingham City.
September
The team's inability to turn draws into wins was evident in September as they shared points with Tottenham Hotspur, Burnley and Swansea City.
An entertaining 2-2 draw with Spurs kicked off the month, while stalemates against Burnley and Swansea kept Sunderland in the wrong half of the standings.
Their disappointment was compounded midway through the month when their participation in the League Cup was ended by a 2-1 defeat at home to Stoke City.
October
It took until October 4 for the side to pick up their first league win of the season, with a brace from Steven Fletcher guiding them towards a 3-1 victory at home to Stoke.
With a renewed air of optimism around the club, their hopes of climbing up the standings were dashed in amazing circumstances the following weekend as an 8-0 hammering at Southampton left Gus Poyet lost for words.
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There was an improvement of sorts in their next game when they put up a fight against Arsenal, but a 2-0 loss brought down the curtain on a mixed month for the Wearsiders.
November
After a stuttering start to the season, Sunderland enjoyed an unbeaten November that included an impressive draw with Chelsea.
The month got underway with a 3-1 win at fellow strugglers Crystal Palace before draws against Everton and Leicester City continued to keep the points ticking over.
Their goalless draw at home to league leaders Chelsea came in their final fixture, making the Black Cats the first team this season to stop the Blues from scoring.
December
The final month of the year began with a demoralising 4-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester City, Sunderland's eighth reverse of the season. However, draws with Liverpool and West Ham United respectively soon saw the Black Cats build some momentum.
Their biggest match of the campaign so far came at St James' Park on December 21 when they made the short trip to bitter rivals Newcastle United. Having found points hard to come by, Gus Poyet's side took home all three thanks to a dramatic 1-0 win.
With the game looking as if it would be heading for a goalless draw, Adam Johnson popped up to score the winner in the final minute and hand his team a vital victory. It was the fourth time in a row that Sunderland had beaten their nearest and dearest.
But this is Sunderland. No sooner had they beaten Newcastle that they were losing 3-1 at Hull City in their very next match, before being held to a 0-0 draw by Aston Villa - a fitting end to the year.
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January
The Black Cats brought in a familiar figure during the January transfer window as Jermain Defoe joined the club from Toronto in an exchange deal for Jozy Altidore.
However, the striker was unable to stop the rot, with three consecutive Premier League defeats coming this month. Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur all saw off Sunderland, leading to increased pressure on manager Gus Poyet.
There was some joy in the FA Cup thanks to a 1-0 victory over Leeds United, but they could only draw with Championship outfit Fulham in the fourth round.
Sunderland also enjoyed a successful end to the month in the league when they saw off fellow strugglers Burnley at the Stadium of Light - a game in which Jermain Defoe scored his first goal for the club.
February
A 3-1 victory over Fulham in their fourth-round replay saw the Mackems progress in the FA Cup, but they were to become another victim of giant killers Bradford City in the fifth round, losing 2-0 at Valley Parade.
With only the Premier League to focus on, Sunderland's struggles near the foot of the table continued as they picked up just two points from a possible 12.
Draws against Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion proved valuable, though defeats to Queens Park Rangers and Manchester United kept the side in trouble.
March
The start of March saw the Black Cats travel to another team struggling for survival in the form of Hull City, with the match ending 1-1 after Jack Rodwell cancelled out Dame N'Doye's opener.
Aston Villa's trip to the Stadium of Light midway through the month offered Sunderland a good chance to get some points on the board against the relegation-threatened Villans. However, a shocking first-half performance in which the hosts conceded four goals allowed the visitors to waltz away from the North-East with a comfortable 4-0 victory.
That match was to prove the undoing of Gus Poyet, who was sacked by the club's board shortly after. Former Rangers boss Dick Advocaat was brought in as his replacement, with the hard-headed Dutchman given a contract until the end of the season.
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Advocaat's first match in charge was a 1-0 defeat at West Ham United, but the veteran coach was about to turn the team's fortunes around.
April
Dick Advocaat's first win as Sunderland manager could not have come in more perfect circumstances as the Black Cats got April off to a flying start with a 1-0 victory at home to Newcastle United. Jermain Defoe stole the show, scoring a spectacular winner at the end of the first half.
A heavy 4-1 defeat at home to Crystal Palace followed, but another precious point in their fight for survival arrived at the end of the month courtesy of a 1-1 draw away to Stoke City.
May
From here the Black Cats clawed themselves out of trouble with an impressive four-game unbeaten run that started with two victories.
A 2-1 triumph over Southampton got their survival bid up and running before a 2-0 win at Everton gave everyone at the club a huge boost heading into the final three games of the campaign.
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Needing just a point from their final two matches to secure their safety after drawing 0-0 with Leicester City, Sunderland pulled off a miraculous escape at the Emirates Stadium when a sensational defensive display saw them keep out Arsenal for a 0-0 draw. With the pressure now off, Dick Advocaat's men were beaten 3-1 by Chelsea on the final day of the season.
Jack Prescott
