Sunderland news: Speakman on relegation history in Premier League

Sunderland’s sporting director Kristjaan Speakman says he isn’t worried about the recent history of clubs being promoted to the Premier League and facing immediate relegation.

Sunderland won promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs after an added time goal by Tom Watson in the final.

Watson has now joined Brighton, but speaking to BBC Radio Newcastle Speakman said that all summer transfer decisions will have the long-term goals of the club in mind.

When asked if the number of promoted clubs being relegated is worrying, Speakman said: “It doesn’t worry me, I think it’s a fantastic challenge. Everyone that works at Sunderland has just gone through an incredible challenge of trying to navigate from League One to the Premier League.

“This is a challenge everyone is really looking forward to.

“When we came to the club we had a multi-year strategy of how we’d get back to the Premier League. That’s not just a season-by-season thought process.

“We’re going to continue that way of thinking, we’re going to make decisions we think are in the best interest of the club to try to retain our position in the Premier League.

“We’re going to try ensure we don’t make decisions that will negatively impact the club in the long-term, because you’ve seen before with Sunderland how negative that can be.

“As we know, there’s some really key decisions coming up around making sure we have a squad capable of trying to achieve that objective.

Listen to the interview