The outspoken pundit has suggested that Sunderland will struggle to bridge the gap between themselves and Newcastle United in the long-term.

TalkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan has suggested that Sunderland will struggle to bridge the gap between themselves and bitter rivals Newcastle United in the long-term, despite Sunday’s Wear-Tyne victory over the Magpies.

The Black Cats ran out 1-0 winners against Eddie Howe’s men at the Stadium of Light at the weekend, and are currently four points and four places ahead of them in the Premier League table.

But despite their derby day triumph, and their stellar start to the new top flight campaign, Jordan has insisted that Regis Le Bris’ men still have a notable distance to cover before they can hope to be on a level footing with their Champions League neighbours.

What did Simon Jordan say about Sunderland and Newcastle United?

Speaking during an appearance on talkSPORT, the former Crystal Palace chairman said: “I mean, I think ultimately Sunderland are in such a good vein of thinking right now, every box that you can imagine for a Sunderland fan is being ticked - they go up, they're not whimpering in the Premier League, they're there, they're staying in the relegated, so the first box has been ticked. They’re not going to get relegated.

“Next box, they play Newcastle at home and they beat Newcastle at home, so for Sunderland fans these moments are great and wonderful moments and well deserved because the owner - who's a younger owner that I felt at times wouldn't have the experience to make certain decisions - you've got to look at the decisions and the voices that he's listening to that's brought this manager through the door.”

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He continued: “You look at it now and say, ‘How do you look at Sunderland in comparison with Newcastle?’. Newcastle are a Champions League side, they've got £300-400 million of a turnover. Sunderland are doing what lots of promoted clubs have done previously, which is having a wonderful first season - we've seen it happen with Sheffield United in previous times, we've seen it happen with Swansea, all those years ago. Wonderful time, enjoy it, it's a great set of achievements, you're staying in the Premier League next season.

“The difficulty is when you draw comparisons, because it's a natural thing to do. That's what we do, is draw a comparison between the two clubs. Newcastle are by far and away advanced beyond Sunderland - they're a Champions League side, they've got £150-200 million of a turnover greater than Sunderland, so that means that Newcastle's project is several years ahead of Sunderland. Individual games, fantastic, give Sunderland all the plaudits for the individual games, give Sunderland all the plaudits for the way they've approached this season because I've got nothing but respect and admiration for them.

“How does Sunderland bridge the gap between Newcastle in perpetuity, consistently, rather than an individual game in an individual season? And how do Newcastle get into the top six repeatedly? How does Newcastle win the league, given the ownership model they've got? Well, the answer is probably they can't, because they've got £350 million of a turnover, and Manchester City have got £700 million, and so have Arsenal, and so have Liverpool, and so have other teams that are in the top six that have been established because of the nature of the PSR rules. So how does Sunderland compete with Newcastle in the longer term? Well, they can't, tragically.”

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