WITH the euphoria of Sunderland's Championship win gradually beginning to subside, a level-headed Carl Robinson has insisted that Premiership survival must be his side's principal ambition next season.

If the Black Cats midfielder had any reservations about just how much promotion meant to the club's fans, they were emphatically answered last night as the entire Sunderland squad were given a rapturous reception on an open-top bus tour of the city.

But, while winning the Championship trophy confirms Sunderland's return to the English elite, this season's achievements will count for nothing if the club is unable to cement its place in the Premiership next term.

Last season, Leicester and Wolves were relegated just 12 months after clinching promotion while, this time around, all three newcomers - Norwich, West Brom and Crystal Palace - go into the final weekend of the season with their Premiership place in jeopardy.

Sunderland finished seventh after winning the First Division title in 1999 but, with the financial gulf between the top two divisions widening all the time, Robinson is realistic enough to accept that their sights might have to be set a little lower this time around.

"If we finish fourth from bottom it would be a great season," said the Wales international, who headed home Sunday's winner against Stoke to earn the Black Cats their 29th success of the season. "We have to be realistic about it.

"We won't be setting ourselves a target of fourth-from-bottom but, if we finish there, it's a good season.

"It is vitally important that we don't get relegated next year. We're looking up and we want to finish as high as we can. But, if we don't go down, it will have been a good season.

"It's important that promoted clubs don't become yo-yo clubs. It happens - the three that came up last year are all fighting relegation.

"People say that the promoted teams always struggle, but why can't we prove people wrong? Bolton did it. We have got confidence in our ability and, quietly, we will be very confident next season."

Sunderland have already confounded the critics by winning promotion this season, despite manager Mick McCarthy signing a host of unknown quantities last summer.

The likes of Stephen Elliott, Dean Whitehead and Liam Lawrence have all taken to life in the Championship like ducks to water despite their relative inexperience at the start of the campaign.

The combination of wide-eyed innocence and youthful enthusiasm has proved a winning one, and Robinson sees no reason why it cannot be equally effective in the top-flight.

"This Sunderland team is a lot younger than the Norwich team that won the league last season," said the midfielder. "So we're more athletic.

"I watched Crystal Palace play Southampton on 'Match of the Day' last weekend and one point which was made was what a young and athletic team Palace were.

"I don't think there will be any younger or more athletic teams than us in the Premiership next year. We have a lot of younger lads, but we also have experience when it's needed and that will be crucial."

Robinson has plenty of experience - more than 250 league appearances and 20 international caps testify to that - but his Premiership action has been restricted to a solitary five-minute substitute outing for Portsmouth.

He was frozen out of the first-team picture as soon as Pompey won promotion two years ago and, despite admitting that things will be much tougher next term, cannot wait to test himself against the likes of Frank Lampard, Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane.

"I feel very good about the prospect," said Robinson. "It's certainly going to be interesting for all of us.

"There will be games when we do get beaten, and it will be important to bounce back just as we have done so well this season.

"It's a different ball game from now on. We have to be fitter, we have to be stronger and we have to concentrate more. We have to have that killer final ball.

"You can get away with certain things in the Championship, but not in the Premiership. If you give a team a chance, you will be behind. But that's exactly the kind of challenge we all want to face."

* McCarthy met chairman Bob Murray yesterday to discuss his spending plans for the summer, with the future of goalkeeper Thomas Myhre at the top of the agenda.

The Norway international will become a free agent at the end of the month and, at the start of the season, it had been expected that he would not be offered a new deal at the Stadium of Light.

But, after Mart Poom suffered a serious knee injury in October, Myhre played in 28 successive league games as Sunderland scorched towards the Championship title.

His form was a critical factor in the club's promotion and, while teenager Ben Alnwick has underlined his credentials in the last three games, McCarthy has been impressed by both Myhre's professionalism and performance.

By releasing Marcus Stewart and Jeff Whitley, and transfer-listing Sean Thornton and Mark Lynch, the Black Cats boss has shown he will not let sentimentality cloud his judgement this summer.

But, finances permitting, it would now be a surprise if Myhre were not to be offered a new one-year deal. Whether the 31-year-old is willing to accept the reduced terms is, of course, another matter.

"Ben has come in and done wonderfully well," said McCarthy. "I've now got an 18-year-old who is playing as well as any of the three keepers.

"But one of the things I'll be talking about (this week) is the goalkeeping position."

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