Indeed, Kilbane believes Sunderland are capable of challenging for a European place at the end of the season given the promoted team's impact.
He told Tribalfootball.com: "The atmosphere at the Stadium of Light is as good as it’s been since my time, or certainly since Roy Keane’s time. The place is bouncing every week. That makes it really hard for teams to come and compete.
"For Sunderland, the first thing is staying in the Premier League and building from there. But we’ve seen it with so many promoted teams — when you get momentum, look at Brighton, look at Brentford.
"They stabilised, then pushed on. Crystal Palace too, and even Leicester a few years ago. If you’d asked anyone twenty years ago if Leicester would win the Premier League and the FA Cup, you’d have said no chance. Same with Palace going deep in cup competitions.
"So yes, there’s a chance for Sunderland to really kick on at the top end of the table."
Asked if the way Sunderland are performing, should management now buy in January with the aim of going for Europe, Kilbane was cautious.
He added, "Getting someone like Granit Xhaka in was huge for stability and quality. So for them, maybe it’ll be one or two signings at most in January - nothing major. Stabilise this year, then look to next summer to kick on again.
"I don’t see Sunderland doing major business in the January window."
- Kevin Kilbane was speaking to Tribalfootball on behalf of Betway