shouldnt leeds be doing this? - TalkSoccer

Adalon · 20-02-2004, 12:28 PM

Sunderland claim to have staved off the threat of administration for the foreseeable future after securing a vital refinancing package.

They have restructured their £36m debt in the form of two, seven-year loans.

But the club stressed they had not received any new funds to invest in the playing squad.

Since relegation to Divison One, Sunderland have dispensed with 24 of their first-team squad, including big names like Kevin Phillips.

The life-saving package does not mean that the battle against a crippling debt is over, but it does mean that the promotion-chasing Wearsiders can start to look ahead.

"What it doesn't mean in practical terms is that the club has received an injection of cash or cleared any of its debts," said vice-chairman John Fickling.

"What has changed is how it is going to be repaid and more importantly, over what timescale.

We are in a position to move forwards and upwards
Sunderland vice-chairman John Fickling

"The club hasn't received any new funds to invest in the team or any other issues for that matter.

"What it does mean is that we have dealt with the traumatic and immediate impact of relegation and we have survived.

"It means the club has arrested what could have been a serious decline. The position now has levelled out and we are in a position to move forwards and upwards."

Sunderland's plight became clear as relegation last season emerged as an inevitability after a disastrous run of results.

The drop alone cost the club a minimum of £10m in lost revenue, and chairman Bob Murray and his directors immediately set about the task of slashing expenditure.

The wage bill has been halved to £7m, mainly by trimming the playing staff from in excess of 40 to little more than 20.

Mick McCarthy's players helped out by agreeing to defer a portion of their wages in a deal brokered through the PFA.