Stewart Donald reveals his ownership style ahead of a busy summer for Sunderland

Stewart Donald confirmed that he will be an extremely hands-on owner at Sunderland and is relishing the challenge of turning the club around.

There will be plenty of change at the Stadium of Light this summer - both on and off the field - but Donald is prepared to put in the hard work as he bids to turn the club's fortunes around.

Donald was unveiled as the club's new owner yesterday afternoon and, alongside fellow director Charlie Methven, has pledged to put his all into the football club.

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The duo are under no illusions about the challenge ahead of them but feel they are well-equipped to help transform the club.

And Donald believes the first step needs to be to build bridges with supporters, many of whom have felt disconnected from the club in recent months.

"It'll be good fun," Donald admitted.

"There's a lot to do and that's part of the challenge. We'll just get our teeth into it.

"There's been two relegations and you can tell from the fans that they just want the football to be successful and to really be a part of it.

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"You get a feeling that they don't feel like that at the moment, so there's a lot to do with the fans.

"There's obviously a lot to do with the community and the squad and it's a big job. But I'm not scared of that."

A lot of fans' frustrations were levied at previous owner Ellis Short, who was scarcely seen at the Stadium of Light.

But Methven believes there will be no such gripes with the new ownership group who will be regularly involved in the club.

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And the former journalist is keen to ensure that he and Donald spearhead a turnaround in culture at the Stadium of Light.

"The bottom line is that we're both very much 'roll your sleeves up' people," he added.

"Ellis has largely been an absentee owner, I don't think that's a controversial thing to say and I don't think he will deny that.

"That will not be the case with us. We will be very hands on.

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"Both of us create and run business and like to be very hands-on in all aspects of it. I'm not saying we'll be picking the first team, but you'll see us out and about doing quite a lot.

"The bottom line is that there needs to be a turnaround and that's not just an emotional turnaround but a turnaround in culture as well.

"Over the last two years this club has lost more games than any other club. So there's a real, proper job on our hands to try and get everyone facing the same direction and ready to be successful again."