Sunderland's away following has been held up as a shining example by rival Championship boss Paul Ince, who has set Reading's fans the target of following in the footsteps of Black Cats supporters.

Tony Mowbray's men were backed by a terrific sold out following of 2,200 fans at St Andrew's, even more impressive considering it was a Friday night fixture and live on Sky.
Reading boss Ince was watching on the TV and the fantastic away support grabbed his attention.

And he has told of how he'd love the Royals to have such a strong following on the road.

"They [the Reading fans] were brilliant at Hull," said Ince after his side's 2-1 win at the MKM Stadium at the weekend.

"It's so important because we've had so many away games and I'm just pleased we managed to send them back with a victory.

"But it would be nice if we could get some more support. I watched Birmingham versus Sunderland on Friday night and Sunderland had 2,000 fans. That's something we need to build as a club - all of us - to try and get that type of attendance in two or three years' time.

"But to have our fans there, sometimes it's quite nice seeing them in the corner [of the stadium] singing and shouting and seeing them come down at the end is great. My job is to make these fans happy - you can't do it all the time but work will be a lot happier for them than if we were beaten at Hull."

Sunderland's away support has been terrific this season, with the Black Cats regularly backed by sold-out followings on the road.

And the supporters have been rewarded with results. Only Sheffield United and Preston have picked up more points away from home than Sunderland so far this season.