Sunderland AFC ownership: Alex Neil reveals he has only spoken with Kyril Louis-Dreyfus

On Thursday, Sunderland's Chief Operating Officer Steve Davison said he is hopeful that Louis-Dreyfus can reach an agreement to purchase Stewart Donald and Charlie Methven's shares in the club, after the pair publicly declared their willingness to sell.

That followed widespread anger on Wearside this week when it was finally revealed that Louis-Dreyfus owned a 41% stake in the club, with the Madrox consortium holding the rest.

That revelation followed concern over Methven's regular appearances in the director's box at away games, as well as a fraught fortnight at the club both on and off the pitch.

Louis-Dreyfus is thought to have held a desire for a greater shareholding right through the process of his arrival, and it is an ambition that he retains.

Speaking ahead of the visit of MK Dons, Neil said: “The only owner that I’ve met at the club is Kyril.

“I’ve not spoken to anybody else, I’ve never met anybody else, I’ve never seen anybody else.

“Kyril is the only one that I’ve had contact with, along with Kristjaan [Speakman] and Steve [Davison].

"That’s basically it as far as I’m concerned. I work for them.”

And the Sunderland head coach insists the ownership talk off the field has not proved a distraction.

He added: “I’ll be brutally honest, it hasn’t been a distraction to me because I’ve been really busy.

“I’m not really a big reader of what’s going on outside the football side of things because football’s my main priority, and trying to fix that.

“However, I am aware, and I do get made aware of things like that because they do have an impact and they do affect all facets of the football club.

"I’m aware of the discontent over certain things, but it’s certainly not been a priority for me this week.

“I think the club’s moved quickly to try to rectify things. My relationship, the team’s relationship and the club’s relationship with the fans, I think there’s been a lot of bridges built over the last 12 months. We’re obviously hoping that continues.

“There’s things that go on behind the scenes where you can’t be privy to all the information because the integrity of the club needs to be protected to a certain extent. I think that’s a difficult balance to strike, but to be honest, that’s not for me to strike.

“My main focus and priority is to try to get the team ready. I think we’re moving in the right direction as a club, and I’m hoping that can be seen in the next few months.”

The Sunderland Chairman did not attend the supporter collective meeting on Wednesday night as he is not currently in the UK, but he has agreed to meet with fans next week as he bids to build trust in his leadership.

Davison was one of a number of club officials who did attend the meeting, the minutes of which will be released into the public domain.

A message from the Football Clubs Editor

Our aim is to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative Sunderland AFC coverage 365 days a year.

This depth of coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to, please consider taking out a subscription to our new sports-only package here.

Your support is much appreciated. Richard Mennear, Football Clubs Editor