JACK ROSS is hoping a Wembley appearance will form part of a “special season” for Sunderland, with tonight’s Checkatrade Trophy win over Manchester City Under-21s having left the Black Cats one win away from a place in the final.

The Black Cats will join Portsmouth, Bristol Rovers and Bury in Friday’s last-four draw after goals from Duncan Watmore and Lynden Gooch enabled them to see off Manchester City’s youngsters at the Stadium of Light.

The semi-finals are scheduled for the end of next month, with the final due to take place on March 31, and while securing promotion to the Championship remains the overriding priority, an opportunity to lift some silverware along the way is an exciting prospect.

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Sunderland’s players have a rare blank weekend coming up, and as they prepare to enjoy a well-earned rest, Ross has urged them to enjoy the position they have established for themselves over the last five months.

“I was made acutely aware from an early stage of the prize that is at stake in this competition,” said the Black Cats boss. “And I do think we have treated it properly. We’ve used a lot of different players and played a lot of different teams in it, but now getting to this stage makes it exciting for everybody.

“I made that point to the players post-match. We’re going to have a couple of days off at the end of this week, so I wanted to remind them that when they come in on Monday, they’re coming back in third in the league, with a game in hand, right in amongst it to be promoted, and one game away from a cup final at Wembley.

“It’s not bad. You should be excited about it. We could have a special season. We’ve got to improve in different aspects of our game and get back to the standards we were at before, but they believe they can do that and the rewards are there for them. A cup final at Wembley is a big thing for any player, at any stage of their career.”

While his players will enjoy some down time over the next few days, Ross will step up his attempts to add a couple of players to his squad.

Will Grigg’s injury is not as bad as first feared, and the Sunderland boss will make a final attempt to sign the Wigan striker later today. The Black Cats have already had two bids turned down at the DW Stadium, and if they are unsuccessful for a third time, Ross will switch his attentions elsewhere.

He is also poised to bring in a central midfielder, and is hoping to have made significant progress by the weekend.

“Nothing’s really changed, but we’re continuing to work hard on strengthening the squad in a couple of areas,” he said. “I think we’re making progress on them.

“We’ll get straight back to it, and I would hope that over the next 24 hours, we’re going to be able to push things along further. If that’s not bringing in the ones we identified in the first place, then it’s going on to the next ones because time is marching on as we head towards the end of the month.”

Tonight’s victory came against a City side with an average age of less than 18, but while the visitors lacked experience at senior level, they were still able to offer a difficult test.

Having beaten Newcastle United’s Under-21s in the last-16, Sunderland have now seen off two academy sides in the knock-out stages, and Ross is delighted at the professional manner in which his players have approached their last two Checkatrade ties.

“This competition has provided different challenges for us, and the Under-21 games in particular are not straightforward for a whole number of reasons,” he said. “The expectation is for us to win the game and for it to be straightforward, but you play against some good teams.

“I couldn’t have asked for a lot more tonight. They were patient out of possession, and they’ve progressed through this tournament well. They’ve met every challenge and to have progressed through the six games to get to the point now where they can see a tangible reward is pleasing.”

Ross was especially pleased to see Watmore score his first senior goal in almost three years, with the forward curling home a slick first-half finish.

“I think that anything we get from Duncan this season is a bonus,” he said. “The length of time he’s had out of the game is challenging physically and mentally.

“He’s not going to be bang at it right away, and arguably until he gets a full pre-season period under his belt, we won’t see that. For him to get another 60 minutes and score – it’s the first time he’s scored for three seasons – that will mean a lot to him. It makes all the long, hard days worthwhile for him, and I’m delighted for him.”