SUNDERLAND’S miserable season finished in fittingly depressing fashion as they lost 2-0 at home to Sheffield Wednesday on the final day of the campaign.

While the Owls celebrated a survival that had looked extremely unlikely prior to the appointment of German head coach Danny Rohl in the autumn, the Black Cats were left to reflect on the way in which their own managerial decisions caused their season to implode.

Having been on the brink of the play-off places when Tony Mowbray was dismissed in the autumn, Sunderland finished the campaign just six points above the bottom three in 16th position.

Mike Dodds’ lengthy spell as interim head coach has been a disaster, with the final-day defeat meaning the stand-in boss has won just two of his 13 matches since replacing Michael Beale.

Finding a new permanent head coach will be Kristjaan Speakman and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus’ main job this summer, but as the boos that rang around the Stadium of Light at the final whistle highlighted, there is an awful lot that needs putting right if Sunderland are to challenge in the top half of the table next season.

With their Championship status at stake, Sheffield Wednesday were the sharper and more incisive of the two sides throughout this afternoon and went close after just nine minutes.

Callum Styles gave the ball away cheaply in his own half, but while Josh Windass whipped a dangerous ball across the face of goal, a sliding Anthony Musaba was unable to make contact at the back post.

Windass went close himself shortly after, dragging a shot across the face of goal after Barry Bannan released him behind the Sunderland defence, but there was a scare for the Owls midway through the first half when Luke O’Nien headed home from Styles’ free-kick. The effort didn’t count, though, as the flag had gone up for offside.

That was a rare threatening moment from the Black Cats, and Sheffield Wednesday claimed the opening goal their bright play deserved just before the half-hour mark.

Bannan was the architect of the opener, unlocking the Sunderland defence with a brilliant through ball. Liam Palmer advanced into the right of the box, and fired home a clinical low finish.

Sunderland have ended the season with a whimper, but they almost equalised within five minutes of falling behind. Bannan’s misplaced pass enabled the Black Cats to sweep downfield, and Jack Clarke curled a fine effort against the outside of the post from the corner of the 18-yard box.

It proved a crucial moment, as within four minutes, Sheffield Wednesday were claiming the second goal that went a long way to confirming their safety. Pol Valentin pulled the ball back from close to the byline after breaking down the right, and Windass drilled a first-time finish past Sunderland goalkeeper Nathan Bishop.

Patrick Roberts fired wide from eight yards out as the Black Cats wasted an excellent opportunity to get back into things just before the interval, but while Clarke came close in the second half, Wednesday’s survival-clinching lead was never seriously threatened.