Sunderland's chairman Bryan Sanderson has threatened redundancies at the club after the relegation-troubled side announced a yearly loss of almost £5million and debts of £26million.
Former Irish manager Mick McCarthy has recently been installed as the new manager at the Stadium of Light, however it looks unlikely that he will be able to prevent their relegation and should the Black Cats go down, it will almost certainly mean that the club will have to shed staff.
Sanderson said "Everybody is aware of the impact of under-performance in the Premiership and we have had to take a long hard look at our position and take some tough decisions. It is with very great regret therefore that we are announcing a significant number of proposed redundancies."
Sanderson blamed this years losses on the floundering transfer market, and a compensation pay-off to former manager Peter Reid. "We had only £0.1million profit from the disposal of players. The wages figure at the interim includes the settlement costs payable on the departure of Peter Reid. The settlement for Howard Wilkinson and Steve Cotterill will be reflected in the full year results."
"Much has happened during a season that has seen three managers in charge. It was important to recognise the mistake of our previous appointment and take decisive action with the early appointment of a renowned manager Mick McCarthy to give us the best chance of success in the coming seasons."
Filed by Rob Wright
