Del agonises over Black Cats big offer

From Back Page the task of leading Sunderland back into the English top flight.

But while Bain was hurriedly making plans to push the deal through last night – including a potential dash across the Atlantic – McInnes was still on holiday in Florida soul searching over the pros and cons of the offer to replace David Moyes in the Stadium of Light hotseat.

While the 45-year-old would more than treble his wages to around £1million a year with a move to Wearside, he has to balance short-term financial gain against the risk of moving to a notoriously unstable club which many fear might have entered a period of irreversible decline following relegation from the Premier League.

With owner Ellis Short desperate to sell up and move on, there is also the danger that McInnes could take on the job only to quickly find himself working under new owners who, in turn, may want to bring in their own management team.

And on top of all that uncertainty, he faces the dual task of orchestrating a successful promotion battle with limited funds while gutting a bloated squad full of players on bumper contracts who have been recruited by a succession of failed managers.

All of which means Pittodrie boss McInnes has a great deal on which to ponder even though he will be attracted to the idea of linking up with Bain in the North East.

He may also be in need of a new challenge after four years of successful empire building at Pittodrie.

Sources in Sunderland are so confident that McInnes will accept Bain’s offer that last night they were expecting to have the deal tied up in less than 24 hours.