Sunderland are still pushing for promotion to the Premier League this season

Former Sunderland midfielder Kieron Brady has hit out at the club’s board for not properly backing Regis Le Bris in the transfer market, suggesting that if the Frenchman guides the Black Cats to promotion this season, it will be “in spite of” those above him.

At the time of writing, Sunderland are fourth in the Championship table, eight points adrift of the automatic promotion places with 11 matches left to play. But despite being firmly in the running for a top-two finish around the turn of the year, the Black Cats only brought in a couple of loan signings during the January transfer window - Enzo Le Fée, who has since picked up a hamstring injury, and Jayden Danns, who is yet to make his debut on Wearside after a back complaint was discovered during his medical.

And Brady is of the opinion that an unwillingness to splash the cash this winter could ultimately prove costly in his former club’s bid to make a long-awaited return to the Premier League over the coming weeks and months.

What did Kieron Brady say about Sunderland’s recent investment in the transfer market?

Speaking on BBC Radio Newcastle’s Total Sport, the ex-Republic of Ireland youth international said: “I’d actually seen something online, I think it was one Sunderland fan posing the question that if the club wasn’t promoted would they potentially dismiss Regis Le Bris? And I was thinking, if there’s any anger or ire that would be directed in the aftermath of not reaching the Premier League, then Regis Le Bris is the last person who should be in the firing line. For me, he’s done well not because of the club and the people above him - he’s done well in spite of them.”

He added: “If they’d been willing to spend a little bit more money, I believe that we wouldn’t be having the conversation now, which is almost speaking about an assured place in the play-offs. The other clubs have went and bought the players to try and ensure they go up. If the club don’t go up this particular season, I would be aghast if there isn’t an outcry towards the powers that be.”

He continued: “They did exceptionally well in their first season back in the Championship - they deserved a lot of credit for it. I know that a lot of ire over the piece has been directed at Kristjaan Speakman, but Kristjaan Speakman’s ideas and attitude are only as good as the budget that he’s conscious he’s been afforded. He can only then get involved with whatever wages and expenditure there is based on the financial powers that be’s willingness.

“Yes, you can acknowledge the contributions that have been made by various people at the club, but I think there are two sides to it. One can focus on youth in a positive and productive manner, but I think there is an equal and valid argument for saying that they’re simply trying to do so much on the cheap.

“You’re probably going to have to go and find a different former player if you want Sunderland football club to get any praise for getting promoted from League One. You would perhaps even find it difficult, certainly in me, to find the idea of Sunderland getting a lot of praise for getting promoted from the Championship.”

The Echo has launched a new WhatsApp SAFC Channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates direct to your phone. Simply click this link to join our SAFC WhatsApp channel.

Brady added: “That said, and just for the avoidance of doubt, the players deserve so much credit for what they’ve been able to produce this season. We’re forever speaking about the blend of inexperience, youth, and the fact that so many of them don’t have any significant experience at the highest level. To that end, they’re deserving of a lot of credit.

“But you just think that a club who have got, for example, the biggest average attendance in the division - or one of them perhaps along with Leeds - for their third season in the Championship, they’re still one of the lowest in terms of salaries. That doesn’t add up. It simply doesn’t.”

Your next Sunderland read: Sunderland's next opponents Cardiff City confirm signing of ex-Man Utd academy star