Kevin Phillips fears for Sunderland's future unless Ellis Short leaves

The Black Cats sit second-bottom in the Championship after a demoralising week which saw them lose to Birmingham City and Ipswich Town.

Phillips, the club's record Premier League goalscorer, thinks manager Chris Coleman may be having some regrets about leaving the Wales job to take the reins at the Stadium of Light.

But he points the finger at Short, and says the club may struggle to prosper until there is a change of ownership.

"I think they could go again this season," Phillips told Talksport. "It would be an absolute disaster.

"Chris may be sitting in a room having some regrets about taking over.

"I’m fed up with answering questions about what’s gone wrong - I just don’t know.

"Until the chairman sells the club and the right people can come in and get rid of a lot of players, unfortunately they could be plying their trade in League One next year."

Phillips, who was linked with the Sunderland job after David Moyes left, is assistant coach at Derby County.