Ex-Sunderland boss Gus Poyet has been speaking about his former club.

Former Sunderland boss Gus Poyet has hailed the Black Cats for their “ruthless” approach in the transfer market in recent times, but has urged the club the take things “slow” as they continue to establish themselves as a Premier League side moving forward.

Regis Le Bris’ men embarked on something of a shopping spree following their promotion from the Championship last summer, spending in excess of £150 million on 14 new additions to their squad. In January, the top flight new boys then bolstered their ranks further with three more acquisitions.

Since then end of the winter window, Sunderland have announced that long-term sporting director Kristjaan Speakman has left the Stadium of Light, with Florent Ghisolfi taking on his responsibilities as part of his role as Director of Football.

And based on Ghisolfi’s first summer on Wearside, and the success that it brought in the transfer market, Poyet is confident that the Black Cats can continue to grow as a Premier League outfit - but has urged club chiefs to exercise patience in their approach to enhancing the squad over the coming months and years.

What has Gus Poyet said about Sunderland’s transfer policy?

Speaking exclusively to The Echo, courtesy of Premier League betting odds site BetWright, Poyet said: “The transfer window in the summer and the recruitment system of Sunderland was one of the best by far - and I'm saying it in a nice way, not because I want to be nice with the people, because I remember Fulham spending £100 million when they came up a few years back, and they went down.

“So it's not about money, it's about how we use the money. And I knew that it would be very difficult for Sunderland to perform in the Premier League with the team that came up from the Championship. Even if we want to give them the opportunity to play, you know that you go to another level and you need to be very careful. You need to be ruthless as a coach, and that's difficult because you get close to the players because you achieve something important, but at the same time, you need to be realistic and not trying to be too nice, because you know you're going to lose the job.

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“And there were many players that played a big part last year that, unfortunately, they haven't been involved this year - apart from a few - and that shows how well the recruitment system works. So let's hope it continues. But what I say is [take things] slow, you know. Don't keep changing, changing, changing. I think now is a time for Sunderland to be consistent, and consistency means more or less the same with little additions every now and then.”

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