'Fighting Spirit': Chris Rigg Reveals Sunderland Dressing Room Mentality Amid Relegation Claims

Sunderland starlet Chris Rigg has admitted that the Black Cats are desperate to prove the outside doubters wrong once again this season.

Following Regis Le Bris' arrival at Sunderland in the summer of 2024, there were doubts over whether the Black Cats would survive in the Championship under the Frenchman, let alone earn promotion to the Premier League through the play-off final.

Then, in their first season back among England's elite, pundits, media personalities and those in Newcastle United circles backed Sunderland for an instant relegation back to the Championship, only for Le Bris' newly-promoted side to defy the odds and qualify for the Europa League.

This term, Sunderland have been touted for second season syndrome, with prominent Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher being one of many to back the Black Cats for relegation once again.

Thankfully, the Sunderland squad is using this outside noise as a positive force, with Rigg admitting they have a defiant attitude to prove doubters and critics wrong for the third season running.

Sunderland made a poor start to the campaign on opening weekend with their 2-1 defeat at newly-promoted Ipswich Town, which was self-inflicted by two defensive errors, but have since bounced back.

Since the Ipswich loss, Sunderland have beaten Fulham and come back from behind to draw at Brentford in the Premier League before getting the better of Hull City in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday evening with a heavily rotated squad.

For the Hull win, Le Bris started Rigg in Sunderland's central midfield, with the teenager impressing by creating the most chances (five) of any player on the field during his 90-minute performance that was pivotal to the victory.

After the game, Rigg admitted that the Sunderland squad has a "fighting spirit" to prove their doubters wrong this season, and that this mentality is fuelling them for the gruelling campaign on four fronts ahead.

Rigg told BBC Sport: "It's been mentioned that we're one of the favourites to go down again, and of course we hear that in the changing room, and it fuels us for the coming weeks.

"We want to take it game-by-game but we've also got to think that there's a lot of games coming up and our squad depth is good now - we've got a lot of players fighting for their place.

"Most of the lads decided to stay here because they know what we want to do by the end of the season.

"We want to do well in the league, and we want to do well in Europe, and it's a big challenge for everyone. We're all really excited for it."

In Rigg's words, the season ahead is certainly a "big challenge" for the Sunderland squad, with a string of crucial fixtures upcoming for the teenage talent and his teammates.

Up next, reigning Premier League champions Arsenal journey to the Stadium of Light, before current Eredivisie leaders AZ Alkmaar travel to Sunderland as the Black Cats begin their Europa League campaign.

Then, just four days after the AZ Alkmaar clash, Sunderland travel to Premier League giants Manchester City in their final clash before the lengthy international break.

The Black Cats will certainly be relishing those upcoming challenges, and their dogged mentality will have to be matched by superlative performances on the pitch in their three most important fixtures of the 2026/27 campaign yet.