Fans meeting tonight will outline questions to Martin Bain

An open meeting will be held tonight giving Sunderland fans the chance to help set the agenda ahead of a meeting with Black Cats chief executive Martin Bain.

Representatives from Sunderland fan group Red and White Army (RAWA), along with other fan groups, will sit down with Bain (pictured) and club chiefs next month. The aim is to discuss the club’s financial position, ownership situation, struggles on and off the pitch, and increased fan involvement.

RAWA have called an open meeting for tonight where fans can come along and offer ideas and feedback on what issues they’d like to see raised with the club.

The open meeting will be upstairs at The Peacock, High Street West, at 7pm. Supporters can attend by registering for free at https:// www.eventbrite. co.uk/e/redwhite-armyopen-meeting-tickets-44137590722 RAWA chairman Andrew Hird and other representatives will then take that feedback to the meeting with Bain on April 4, which will also be attended by a number of supporters’ groups including the Sunderland Supporters Liaison Group (SSLG), the SAFC Branch Liaison Council (BLC), Sunderland Senior Supporters and SAFC Disabled & Escort Supporters representatives.

Hird said: “We have no doubt supporters will have some tough questions for us to put to the club, but we also hope the meeting will also act as a platform for supporters to air their frustrations at our current situation.

“We want to talk about the current ownership and also how fans should position themselves if/when a new owner comes in. We believe supporters should have more influence.

“There has been a lot of talk about apathy and at the same time many supporters have shared ideas about protests.”

A petition was launched by Red and White Army last month calling on owner Ellis Short to sell up. It has since topped 10,000 signatures.