For Bailey Wright, a landmark 100th game in Sunderland colours perhaps didn’t come along as soon as he would have hoped this season, but his ultra-professional approach and strong mindset ensured he was ready when called upon to help the Black Cats in the last week.

Wright was a mainstay in the Sunderland backline last term but this season has been a different story, having played just 23 minutes of football under Tony Mowbray before he was handed his first Championship start of the campaign at Luton last Saturday.

A solid showing there was followed up by a clean sheet at Huddersfield Town on Wednesday night, the perfect way to celebrate Wright marking 100 outings in red and white, a milestone reached with immense pride for the Aussie.

“From the moment I joined, it was an honour to come to a club like Sunderland and to go out and win the 100th game is something I’ll always remember. Hopefully there are many more,” said the 30-year-old.

“I feel like I’ve been here for a good while and had a lot of success, which is ultimately what you come for. Racking up appearances along the way means you are obviously contributing on the pitch and it’s always a difficult team to get into. I never take it for granted playing for a club like Sunderland and it’s always been special since the day I signed.”

For all Wright is at home and happy at Sunderland, this season has been testing at times, with the centre-half losing his place in the team. Dealing with those setbacks, however, is something Wright knows is part of the game, and he’s had honest conversations with Mowbray, who has openly explained his team selection thinking.

Wright says: “I’m 30-years-old and I know the game well. I also see the game very often and try to look at it from a manager’s or coach’s point of view.

“I highly respect the lads who have been playing in my position and have a lot of respect and time for the lads who have been playing ahead of me. I think sometimes you have to be patient when boys are playing well and sometimes it takes injuries to get a chance.

“I’m not naïve and for me I can see why lads were playing ahead of me. It wasn’t that I wasn’t working hard enough or doing my job in training. I apply myself everyday, regardless of whether I’m playing or not.

“I’ve had conversations with the gaffer and he’s let me know where I stand. He’s not been disappointed with what I’ve been doing but I’ve had to be patient. Maybe this time last year I had to be patient and wasn’t in the team and I guess football moves quickly and a lot of things can happen.

“I always remember how the season finished and what we achieved, and I felt fully part of that whether I was playing or not, and that’s my goal again now. We are a football team and the club always comes first.”

Wright’s lack of match action this season has made the defender even more determined to go the extra yard in training, to ensure he was ready and raring when a Sunderland opportunity presented itself, and, of course, to make sure he was fit and sharp for this month’s World Cup.

He said: “I kind of had this mindset that I can’t choose myself to play in this XI so I’ve still been doing extra running, extra work, playing for the 21s when I can, because I want to be ready for the first team. I want to make sure that I’ve done the work, and I’ve definitely got that reward now.

"Of course, playing enhances your chances of national team selection but my mindset was, playing or not playing, I was going to be as ready as ever.”