Max Power reveals how takeover talk has affected the Sunderland dressing room - as he makes a promotion pledge

And the former Wigan Athletic man has pledged that the dressing room will continue to ‘give everything’ in their pursuit of a return to the Championship.

The midfielder – who is preparing to begin his third season at the Stadium of Light – discussed a manner of subjects as part of an appearance on the #SAFCUnfiltered podcast.

And Power candidly discussed how players have found it tough to ignore takeover talk that has lingered at the Stadium of Light in recent months.

Owner Stewart Donald publicly placed the club up for sale in January and is yet to find a new buyer – although reports suggested he entered a period of exclusivity with an unnamed party earlier this summer.

So while Power’s focus remains squarely on the pitch, he admits players are not ‘oblivious’ to what is being discussed regarding the future of the club.

"It's been a tough six months because we didn't get our goal of being promoted and coronavirus kicked-in meaning another season in League One,” he said.

"The club has obviously had off-field issues - it's no secret that at the moment it seems as if the club is up for sale.

"As players you don't tend to want to get involved in any of that, but it's pretty hard to ignore with so much coverage and nowadays social media is a huge part of the game - so you only have to pick your phone up and there's usually some sort of notification or headline.

"You're not oblivious to what's going on.”

But it’s a burning desire to seal promotion that remains the main focus of Power and his teammates.

"You can’t hide away from the fact that promotion has been the aim since I came here, and it’s still the aim,” said the midfielder.

“I’m in the final year of my contract so I want to get promoted and I’d love to be here for many years to come – that’s the aim for me.

"If you ask anyone in the squad, everyone knows what the aim has to be.

"Hopefully come May, we can finally have something to celebrate.”

And when asked what message he had for supporters with the new campaign on the horizon, Power pledged that the playing squad would again ‘give everything’ to seal promotion.

“We’re training really hard every day,” he said.

"We understand the frustration of not getting promoted in recent years and we’ll give everything we can. There’s a real good group of honest lads who want to do well and we’ll give everything until fans can return to the games – and I’m sure it’ll be a nice reunion when fans are back in the stadium.”

You can listen to Power’s full appearance on the #SAFCUnfiltered Podcast HERE.

A message from the Editor:

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to the Sunderland Echo website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit here to sign up. You can subscribe to the newspaper with 20% off here. Thank you.