Coleman in the eye of a storm but determined to see it through

CHRIS Coleman has likened the situation at Sunderland to being ‘in the middle of a tornado’ as he tries to rebuild the squad and fight a relegation battle while the long-term ownership of the club remains uncertain.

The new Black Cats boss last month took over a side rooted to the foot of the Championship, with no money available to bring in fresh faces.

In the background, owner Ellis Short is known to be willing to sell up if he can find another buyer after a potential sale fell through in the summer.

Coleman is confident that, despite last season’s relegation and their continued decline this term, Sunderland will rise again - and he wants to be the man to turn things around.

He knows he has a huge task on his hands and admits he will have to ‘dismantle and rebuild’ to get the club heading in the right direction once more.

The former Wales manager said: “You know what can happen here when things are going well, but unfortunately we are at the other end now.

“It is how we start building to get back there.

“It is literally dismantling and rebuilding – I cannot be any more clear than that.

“We need to do that but at the same time we have a fight on our hands to get away from where we are now.

“It is like we are in the middle of a tornado.”

Short’s position is that the club is