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Ex-Sunderland man Simon Ramsden has opened up about the club’s treatment of former kitman John Cooke.

Cooke was made redundant back when the club was controlled by Stewart Donald and Charlie Methven in 2020 after a total of 35 years on Wearside between playing and non-playing duties.

The move to replace Cooke left a bitter taste in the mouth of ex-players, supporters and the Cooke family, with his son – Jay Turner-Cooke – leaving Sunderland’s academy to join rivals Newcastle United.

A testimonial for Cooke took place at South Shields’ Mariners Park last summer – although there was no official involvement from Sunderland – with a host of former players in attendance, including Niall Quinn, Kevin Phillips, Micky Gray and Ramsden.

Ex-Sunderland kitman John Cooke with Ally McCoist at the former's testimonial game last summer. Picture by Ross Johnston and RJXMedia.

Ramsden, who made one appearance for Sunderland (his boyhood club) back in 2004 in an FA Cup game against Ipswich Town before moving on to Bradford City and Motherwell, took to the field to support his former colleague.

Speaking to The Echo, the 41-year-old stated the club under Donald and Methven had been “out of touch” when it came to their handling of Cooke back in 2020.

“Not just Cookie, but people behind the scenes at football clubs, the kit men, I don’t think people understand how important they are for your day-to-day,” Ramsden exclusively told The Echo.

“He was in the changing room with the lads constantly, having craic and looking after you. As a young lad he used to look out for us all the time, sort us out with boots and things. The players had the utmost respect for him.

Former Sunderland player Simon Ramsden. Picture by Ross Johnston and RJXMedia.

“To me, when he left, that’s people who are out of touch with football and what the club mean to people when people make decisions like that.

“He had been at the club for over 20 years. I was really upset about how he was treated as were a lot of the ex-players when they found out the news. When I got the call to play in that testimonial, I was over the moon.”

Ramsden concluded: “I had many a chat with Cookie when I was a young lad and he’d tell me to keep my head up. You need characters like that.”

You can listen to ex-Sunderland player Simon Ramsden’s full interview with The Echo on The Roar Podcast. Available on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, Amazon and all podcast platforms. Just search “The Roar – Sunderland Echo”. This edition of The Roar Podcast will be streamed LIVE on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter at 6pm Thursday, 16 February.

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