IT'S a season that exceeded all external expectations and finished with Sunderland celebrating not only their joint best ever Premier League finish but qualifying for the Europa League.
And yet for director of football Florent Ghisholfi, there was "frustration".
Why?
"Because I was sure we could do even better," says the Frenchman in a somehow understated manner.
It's only one sentence but it says so much about the standards that are being set and driven at Sunderland, who quite clearly aren't remotely interested in patting themselves on the back and settling for what they've already achieved.
That's why, in the immediate aftermath of Sunderland's 1-0 win at Leeds United back in March that took the Black Cats beyond the 40-point mark, Ghisolfi went into the dressing room and spoke to the players and the staff.
He congratulated them on what they'd achieved, reaching their first target with two and a half months of the campaign still to play, but made it absolutely clear that Sunderland's work wasn't done.
Less than 12 weeks later, Sunderland were celebrating a victory over Chelsea that secured a place in next season's Europa League.
RECOMMENDED READING:
- Florent Ghisolfi breaks Sunderland silence to reveal transfer position & summer plan
- Sunderland CEO confirms external takeover interest and explains Louis-Dreyfus stance
Ghisolfi clearly isn't one to put a lid on ambitions but surely, when he joined from Roma 12 months ago, he couldn't have seriously envisaged that a year down the line Sunderland would be in this position.
"We said no limit," said the 41-year-old, who sat down with the Northern Echo and other regional media at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday morning.
"We didn't have a target and we won't have a target next season also. We just wanted to be Sunderland and be the best version of ourselves.
"This will again be the objective. Of course I'm more than happy, proud, but I was frustrated at the end of the season because I was sure we could do better.
"Better first as a club if we manage some situations during the season; the manager, the players, the team, we have to be demanding.
"Some of us had that conversation where we said maybe at the end of the season it could be even better.
"There were some periods where we were very strong but also some periods where we managed not as well as we maybe could. It's also good to have this feeling that we still have a gap (room to improve)."
What about fears of 'second season syndrome'? Can Sunderland really build on such an incredible campaign while juggling the extra workload and focus that comes with European football?
Ghisolfi speaks from experience on this matter.
"Every season is tough," he says.
"Last season everyone said we would go down, right. The second season is tough.
"I had this experience with Lens. We were promoted, everyone said you will go down, but we finished seventh in the ranking. Strange."
There's a twinkle in his eye.
"Everyone was happy with the club but I was frustrated because sixth was European competition, not seventh," he continues.
"I was frustrated. In the second season in the league, seventh again. Everyone was happy, after years of suffering of Ligue 2 we are seventh and seventh again. No, we can do better.
"It depends on what we are doing every day. The last season, we finished second. Champions League qualification. Of course that's Ligue 2, not the Premier League.
"But what I want to say is every year, people told me it will be tough. OK. That's why we are here, to take that challenge, to work, to maybe do better."
Don't make the mistake of thinking Ghisolfi's "frustration" at the end of last season meant he wasn't at all aware of the enormity of Sunderland's achievements.
"Don't get me wrong, I was very happy and proud with this season," he said.
"Myself, I was happy, very happy because it's a big achievement. It showed also the club is growing.
"You can't achieve that if the whole club, from the kitchen, to the cleaning to the players, are not growing. The club is growing and I was very happy about that. But the standards, who we are today, yes, we can do even better."
It's here that Tom Burwell, Sunderland's interim chief executive, steps in.
"That comes back to alignment, performance first, get the football right and the culture that sits alongside the football, permeate that across the business," he says.
"If you have a football organisation that's relentlessly chasing more, your business will relentlessly chase more. We talk about that all the time.
"We're competing in every area of our business, setting the tone coming from Flo and Granit and those important characters then we have a business looking to be better all the time."
Ghisolfi sits forward again.
"I'll give you an example," he says.
"After Leeds, 40 points, we could have dropped off. I felt some people in the club, this is human, we need a big night, champagne. No. Our culture now is next. We can achieve something more.
"I spoke right after the game at Leeds to say first thanks to the staff for their work; thanks to the team. They achieved something incredible. But we are competing in the Premier League, we feel we are strong, so let's go!"
Share