BLACK CAAT

Gloomy ex-boss: Relegation’s the best thing for sorry Sunderland

FORMER Sunderland boss Dick Advocaat claims it might be best for the club in the long run if they’re relegated this season.

With the Black Cats bottom of the Premier League and looking at financial meltdown if they go down, Sunderland fans and the club’s owner Ellis Short might not agree.

But the 69- year- old Dutch coach (right) reckons that if they could follow Newcastle – top of the Championship and favourites for promotion at the first attempt – it may help to reverse the decline which is killing the Wearsiders.

“Maybe it’s better to go down, to build a new team like Newcastle who have a great club, great fan base and a great stadium just like Sunderland,” he said.

“Sunderland simply cannot go on this way because other clubs invest, they spend money on good players and if you don’t do it you are in trouble because there’s too much quality elsewhere in the Premier League to expect to survive every year.”

Sunderland picked up their first win of the season at Bournemouth last weekend and boss David Moyes faces a crucial ‘six-pointer’ at home to Hull City after the international break. It’s a familiar picture for Advocaat, now manager at Fenerbahce, who still

has a soft spot for Sunderland after his

spell in charge. The experienced boss helped Sunderland avoid the drop after joining them in March 2015 and although he came back the following season he left after just eight games.

Advocaat, who has managed PSV Eindhoven, Zenit St Petersburg and Rangers as well as Holland, Belgium, Russia, South Korea and Serbia, keeps close tabs on Sunderland.

He says he is not surprised they are in trouble again – and believes the club is still hampered by many of the s ame problems he encountered there.

Impossible

He claims Short’s refusal to match the spending of other clubs forced him to head for the exit feeling he had taken on an impossible job.

“You can only define Sunderland’s problems if they spend the same as other clubs do and they don’t do that,” he said.

“I said that well over a year ago and this is the reason I left after eight games when I decided to come back at the start of last season. I had no chance, I had that feeling.

“OK, Sam Allardyce came in after me and he did a great job, but it went down to the last two games of the season.

“You can’t do that every season, it’s not possible – sooner or later your luck will run out.”

Maybe it’s better to go down and build a team like Newcastle. There is too much quality in the Premier League to expect to survive each year