ADULT CHAT LINE
JACK ROSS insists Sunderland can cope with the pressure of their £40million promotion battle – and he isn’t worried about his job.
The Scottish manager is desperate to get back to the Championship, which Sunderland’s owners believe could double the club’s value from £40m to £80m.
But winning promotion at the first attempt is NOT make-orbreak for the club’s future.
Sunderland are one game from a Wembley play-off final, holding a 1-0 lead against Portsmouth from the first leg.
Promotion will be worth £5.3m in extra TV revenue for Portsmouth, but only £2.5m for Sunderland, who have the sum reduced because they will get a third year of Premier League parachute payments.
However they will not face a meltdown if they have another season in League One.
Some 21,500 season tickets have already been sold for next season. Sunderland have a wage bill of £15m – £10m higher than most rivals – but are still carrying players on big money contracts.
The hangover from the club’s overspending gamble in the past will clear by NEXT summer, leaving them in a more powerful position to fight back.
Lee Cattermole, Bryan Oviedo, Donald Love, and Adam Matthews, plus Aiden McGeady, who is on a bumper Championship deal, account for half of their salaries.
Cattermole has two years left, Oviedo and Love one year and Matthews is out of contract this summer. Owner Stewart Donald is likely to sell a chunk of the club in the summer, to bring in more cash.
Ross wants to get the promotion job done this season and is not concerned about losing his job if there is a change in the boardroom.
He said: “Takeover? I am aware of the speculation, of bits and pieces, and it is nothing to do with me. I am employed as a manager. It doesn’t concern me from a personal point of view. I just do my job properly. It is not easy to plan given the uncertainty over which league we will be in. We will have to work quickly.
“It is easy for us. I can only effect the preparation of the players.
“The players can look after the performance on the pitch.
“Post-season was a good time to regroup. We used it to galvanise ourselves and that showed in the result on Saturday. We have to handle the occasion and be disciplined, and thrive on it. One win gets us to Wembley.”
McGeady is likely to be out with a foot injury. Duncan Watmore is in contention.
PORTSMOUTH: SUNDERLAND: GIRO D’ITALIA, Stage 5 1 P Ackermann (Ger/BoraHansgrohe) 3h 15m 44s,
2 F Gaviria (Col/UAE Team Emirates), 3 A Demare (Fra/Groupama) same time General Classification
1 P Roglic (Slo/JumboVisma) 19h 35m 4s, 2S Yates (Gbr/MitcheltonScott) +35s, 3 V Nibali (Ita/Bahrain-Merida) +39s
Sky Bet League One Play-off Semi-final 2nd leg Portsm’th v Sunderland (7.45)