Ex-Sunderland boss Gus Poyet delivers damning League One verdict and cryptic message to former owners

Poyet was expecting the Black Cats to be in the top two this season but Alex Neil’s side are currently in a battle for a play-off League One place in a fiercely competitive division.

Poyet, who left Sunderland in 2015, has warned the club the longer they remain in League One, the harder it will be to win promotion back to the Championship.

Sunderland beat promotion rivals Wigan Athletic last weekend and they travel to Charlton Athletic on Saturday looking to build on that win and bolster promotion hopes.

But Poyet knows they have a huge battle on their hands this season.

Poyet, speaking to bettingexpert said: “I thought Sunderland hit rock bottom two years ago after being in League One for two years.

"You thought, ‘okay, that’s enough’, but the longer you stay in League One, the harder it is to come back because of the budget situation.

"It’s happened to similar clubs. You need to be really, really careful because you become a League One club and Sunderland as a city do not deserve that. The fans, the stadium and training ground deserve better than League One.”

Poyet added: “I thought Sunderland would be title contenders or in the top two.

"They were in that situation at first, but you can’t imagine how difficult League One is.

"It never finishes - it’s so long with so many games.

"They lost their consistency and there were changes in the team and it didn’t work and it led to the club changing the coach.

"You then expected a reaction but it didn’t happen straight away.

"I expected them to be in the top two, but at the moment, it’s no good.

"Let’s hope they finish in the top two and go up because that city needs football at a higher level. The core of the city is the football club.”

And Poyet has also been speaking again at how Sunderland’s then chiefs ignored his warning about the future after overseeing Premier League survival in 2014.

He added: “It hurts me to say but when I was there, we were lucky to stay in the Premier League in that miracle season.

"I was trying to convince everyone at the club, ‘be careful, something is not right’.

"I meant it because I had the feeling when I was there and I hated to be right about it, but I was.

"They thought I was criticising the club, but I wanted the best for the club because the best for the club was also the best for me.”

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