Sunderland's young squad will benefit from their taste of Championship football last season as they seek to improve on reaching the play-offs, says goalkeeper Anthony Patterson.
The Black Cats forced their way into the top-six, losing to eventual winners Luton Town in the semi-finals.
It was a run which came just 12 months after promotion into the second tier.
"It was the first season for many of us in the Championship," Patterson told BBC Look North.
"So we've got that experience now and we need to use it to kick on."
Patterson, at 23, is a barometer of the relative youth within a squad that has an average age of 23, with Danny Batth, Corry Evans and Alex Pritchard the only players over 30.