Stewart Donald gives Sunderland investment update and explains why he's backing Jack Ross

The Black Cats fell to a heartbreaking loss at Wembley on Sunday, with Patrick Bauer's stoppage-time goal condemning them to at least another season in League One.

Speaking to TalkSport's Jim White in the immediate aftermath of the game, the Chairman insisted that Ross retained his backing.

“Jack is as gutted as we all are,” he said.

“But if you’re asking me is Jack Ross going to be here next season, then yes he is, from my perspective.

“It was a big job on his hands. If you play football manager you’re going to say, ‘it’s the biggest budget, it’s Sunderland, you should go up’. But it isn’t like that and Jack has had a lot to contend with.

“He’s been thrown in at the deep end and we’ve done alright. Next year we definitely want to go up and I think Jack can deliver that for us.”

One significant caveat to that is that the clubs ownership structure going forward remains unclear.

American stockbroker Mark Campbell was at the national stadium on Sunday and has held talks with Donald.

He has been linked with a group who are said to be keen on installing former Celtic transfer boss John Park as Director of Football.

Donald, though, said that Campbell was one of a number of investors present and that no decision has yet been made.

“I think there are four or five people who have tabled options to us that are here today, he’s one of them,” he said.

“He [Campbell] is a good guy and he might be someone we get involved. He’s one of four or five options we’ve got, but nothing is done.

“I need to sit down and analyse the next few weeks and see what options are going to be best for the club.”

The Chairman again insisted that he will remain at the club in some capacity next season.

“I will be here [next season]," he said.

"I might sell some of my investment, but I don’t know yet.

“But what can you do? You’ve just got to go again.

“Financially we don’t need to let the club go, we’re safe enough, but if we really need to get back up to the Premier League we need some investment.

“So I’ll have a think about that over the next few days and have a look at the options in front of us.

“The bottom line is, off the field the club is safe. From where the club was 12 months ago, financially we’re secure so we haven’t got to rush into anything.”