Eleven games in and sitting top of the Championship, it is time to start considering the big question: are Sunderland the real deal?

Genuine promotion contenders, in it for the long haul? Or merely in-form, early-season, pretenders?

Everybody expected Burnley, Leeds United, and Sheffield United would be pushing for promotion this season. The likes of West Brom, Norwich City, and Middlesbrough, were also expected to be included in the promotion conversation.

But, let’s be honest, going into the campaign no-one knew quite what to make of Sunderland.

Sure, we all hoped they would be challenging in the upper echelons, if not for automatic promotion then at least for a play-off spot.

There were plenty of nagging doubts, though, given last season’s steep decline.

Were Sunderland a top six team who had badly underperformed last term and limped in 16th? Or a midtable side that had dramatically over-performed the season before when they reached the play-offs under Tony Mowbray?

It was hard to tell.

RECOMMENDED:

The fact that the club was gearing up for the current campaign under a new head coach, Regis Le Bris, who arrived in England on the back of a relegation in France, and with no prior experience of English football, added another layer of uncertainty.

Throw in the August departure - expected, although that did little to cushion the blow - of star man and last season’s top scorer Jack Clarke, and the non-arrival over the summer of a proven Championship striker (since rectified by the signing of Aaron Connolly), and fans were being asked to take a leap of faith.

Four straight league wins was a dream start for Sunderland and Le Bris, but it would have been a brave man who pronounced judgement before the end of August.

Even now, with the season virtually a quarter of the way through, there will be those who feel they need a larger sample size before making their mind up.

But, while there is still a long way to go, I think that we now have enough evidence to draw some meaningful conclusions about the way things are shaping up.

Sunderland go into this weekend’s home game against Oxford United three points clear at the top of the table.

They are not there by accident. It is not a fluke. And they have not had an easy ride.

Already they have beaten Burnley and Luton, two sides which played in the Premier League last term and who were expected to challenge for an immediate return.

They have also seen off Boro and Hull City, both of whom narrowly fell short of the play-offs last season.

And they have secured a draw - albeit in fortuitous circumstances - against Leeds.

As for their lack of an established striker, well they have made up for it by spreading the goals around and they are the only Championship side to have scored in every game this season.

They have also kept six clean sheets - the joint-second highest total in the division, bettered only by Sheffield United’s seven shut-outs.

They have proven that they can blow teams away, as they did in the 4-0 win against Sheffield Wednesday back in August, and as recently as this week they demonstrated their powers of defensive resilience as they withstood a Luton onslaught to earn a hard-fought 2-1 victory at Kenilworth Road.

Luton may have struggled in the wake of relegation, but they are a much better side than their league position suggests and winning there felt like another test passed, another hurdle overcome.

So at what point does a brilliant start become something more profound?

Last season, Ipswich Town were lauded for the way they had adjusted to life in the Championship after promotion, then praised for keeping up with the early pacesetters, but it took time before they were regarded as bona fide promotion candidates who could stay the course.

Week after week fans and pundits wondered aloud when - if - heavyweights such as Leeds and Southampton would chase them down yet Ipswich kept on winning, confounding the doubters as they went all the way, finishing just one place and a single point behind champions Leicester City as they clinched promotion to the Premier League.

Could Sunderland have embarked on a similar path? It’s an intriguing thought.

As for whether Sunderland are the real deal, I’ll reserve judgment for just a little longer before nailing my colours to the mast.

But the signs are good. Very, very, good.