Grayson unhappy with Netflix documentary portrayal

Former Black Cats boss Simon Grayson has revealed he is unhappy with how he was portrayed in Netflix documentary Sunderland ‘Til I Die.

The eight-part series was released globally on Netflix last month and has been well received by supporters and critics, the series charting Sunderland’s relegation from the Championship to League One.

Grayson was appointed manager in the summer of 2017 but only lasted a few months before being sacked at the end of October with the club battling relegation.

Chris Coleman was appointed as his successor but was unable to turn the tide and Sunderland dropped into the third tier for only the second time in the club’s history.

Grayson – sacked within minutes of a 3-3 home draw with Bolton Wanderers – has previously spoken about his time at Sunderland and the financial problems he had to deal with, coupled with former owner Ellis Short’s decision not to spend ambitiously in the transfer market. Stewart Donald has since taken over the club, with Jack Ross in the dugout as Sunderland target an instant return to the Championship.

The club has changed dramatically in the space of six months with filming taking place this season ahead of a second series.

It is a world away from Grayson’s time in charge on Wearside.

Asked if he was comfortable about how he’s portrayed in the Netflix series, Grayson told talkSPORT: “Not really.

“It [the documentary deal] was in place when I first went to Sunderland, so I didn’t have any opportunity to say no.

“What I said to the people who were doing it was they couldn’t have access to the dressing room and other certain areas, but we would try and help them along the way.

“What I was disappointed with was that they didn’t portray myself and my staff how we are.

“There were only a couple of clips here are there of us in a classroom which was done five hours before a pre-season match – we didn’t really get the air time to show our personality.

“When it went onto Chris, you saw a different side to him to be fair.”

Grayson added: “It’s very well done documentary and it’s getting rave publicity, but ultimately from my perspective I’m a little bit disappointed how we were portrayed.

“We certainly did some good work at Sunderland behind the scenes to get people going to work with a smile on their face.

“Ultimately the results didn’t go our way, but we weren’t portrayed in that manner, really.”