Ellis Short admits he's made mistakes at Sunderland but is still funding club

Bain and owner Ellis Short have been accused of ‘asset-stripping’ ahead of a potential sale by some fans, but the chief executive says the owner continues to fund the club and says the money raised by Jordan Pickford’s sale was needed to ensure the ongoing running of the club.

Bain said: “The income drop after relegation, from £100million to around £40million, has to be considered and so does the wage bill, which is still significant for this level even though we have taken steps to reduce it.

“We’ve brought in £30million for Jordan Pickford, but that is needed for the running of the club. Yes, that money comes in, but then you have to consider the money that went out on legacy transfer payments at the start of the summer.

“Added to that we lose some of it when you consider Ricky Alvarez. A player we don’t have, a mistake from the past.”

Bain rejected claims that Short has stopped funding the club, and says his role is to allow the investment made by the American to support long-term growth at Sunderland, rather than continue to fund debts and shortfalls.

He added: “You may not see big transfer fees and I understand why supporters would question that. To put it simply, you take the shortfall from the Premier League to the Championship in terms of revenue, which is huge. Ellis funds that, which allows us, as an example, to sustain a competitive wage bill for this division.

“Moving forward he’s not saying ‘I won’t write the cheques’, he’s saying ‘I don’t want to continue to fund losses, I want to fund growth and improvement’.

“I think that’s where I come in, to turn the club around over a sustained period of time. Football and financial stability is my remit. Not within 12 months but hopefully not too long and then we can see Sunderland climb.

“I know its repetition but I do genuinely believe the work we’ve done over the summer, everything we’ve done, not just transfers, if we had managed to get the results in recent weeks the mindset would be different.”

That Sunderland have spent just over £1million in the market has been a source of contention, and the pervading feeling among the fanbase is that only a change of ownership can help restore the club’s fortunes.

Bain says a new approach was needed under the current ownership after years of toil and financial losses. He acknowledges that investment is needed in the playing squad but says it must be under the backdrop of improved financial health.

He said: “I’m sure that Ellis looks at the football club now and recognises that he’s made mistakes.

“He spent an awful lot and now wants to do things differently. We have to do things in a way where we can get steady growth and be more sustainable, so that we’re not being kneejerk in what we do.

“We couldn’t continue the way things have been in recent years but he is absolutely, categorically, still funding the club.

“Looking at getting steadier growth – to change some of the identity issues that we’ve had and invest in different areas of the club – is so important for us to move forward.

“When you’re in the situation which we’ve been in the past, you’re making last minute signings, you’re not doing what you set out to do, I can see why mistakes have been mad.

“We made some last season and I hold my hands up to that. I just think we need to get things on an even keel so we can get it right and avoid those mistakes.”