The short and long-term state of play at Sunderland with League One set for extended pause

The short-term disruption for the Black Cats has thus far been minimal.

Sunderland were not expecting to play until April even before the fixture postponement was announced by the EFL, and they will not lose any home fixtures as a result.

Players were already due to be off in the early part of this week and unsurprisingly, that has merely been extended.

Realistically, however, the break is likely to be much longer than April 4th as the continent tries to come to terms with the growing health crisis.

It is set to be a period of significant uncertainty for Sunderland and teams across the country, who will be facing up to significant losses in matchday revenue and a wait to see how and when this season will be completed.

For a club in the midst of a tense promotion battle with major consequences, there will be much contingency planning to be done.

Here, we look at the short and longer term issues that the club are grappling with as it prepares for what seems likely to be a long pause…

ON THE PITCH

There have already been a variety of claims made by prominent League One figures as to what should happen next.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, current league position is generally the determining factor.

Southend United’s Chairman Ron Martin has called for the current season to be declared null and void. His team are, of course, currently second bottom and 16 points adrift of safety.

Peterborough United’s Darragh MacAnthony had already threatened a lawsuit if that proves to be the case.

No member of the Sunderland hierarchy has commented publicly but it is clear that playing this season to a conclusion when safe to do so is the best option for the Black Cats.

Rightly, safety of players, staff and supporters is paramount and so an extended break seems the only option.

If and when the season does resume, manager Phil Parkinson’s key task will be to ensure his team are ready for the rigours of first-team action.

He will be working closely with physical performance coach Nick Allamby, who has a major influence on training schedules and workloads.

The extended break will also likely give him time to work with his side on the training pitch after a bitterly disappointing run of form.

The Black Cats have failed to win in four and put their automatic promotion hopes in serious jeopardy.

A desperately poor display against Bristol Rovers will give him much to think about, particularly in attack where his side have struggled to create sufficient chances in recent weeks.

There is much work to be done and Parkinson will also be eager to try and integrate Elliot Embleton.

The talented midfielder is fit again and Parkinson believes he offers a different dimension to many of the other players in his Black Cats squad.

He has been clear that when football returns, whenever that may be, Embleton will have a part to play.

TAKEOVER

Stewart Donald remains in the process of actively seeking a buyer for the club.

The Black Cats Chairman recently told BBC Newcastle that there had been a huge amount of interest in the club and that a number of parties had entered the due diligence stage.

The key question remained as to how Sunderland’s success or otherwise in the remaining weeks of the season affected both the speed of the sale and the potential price.

The uncertainty across the game adds another another layer of difficulty to the process that will fundamentally define the club’s long-term future.

CONTRACTS

Football is facing up to something of a reckoning should the current season be required to extend past the end of June.

It’s a particularly pertinent issue in the lower leagues, where the free agent market is where most clubs look to do their business.

Players and clubs are far happier to run their contracts down and circumstances mean that Sunderland are particularly exposed this year.

Part of it looks to be by design, to some extent.

Sunderland were approaching something of a crossroads this summer anyway. A failure to land promotion would require some significant soul-searching on two failed attempts to secure a return to the Championship.

An element of overhaul would surely be a necessity, underlined by the fact that a number of players signed since last year, particularly this January, have dropped down from the Championship.

Club and player would have a decision to make on what comes next if promotion is not secured.

There is also a cohort of players who perhaps still have something to prove in the closing weeks of the season, whenever that may be, if they were to stay in the event of promotion.

Some of it, of course, is not quite by design.

The impasse surrounding Jon McLaughlin shows no sign of being resolved and the club have now been left vulnerable to losing one of their key assets for nothing.

As it stands, Sunderland, like the rest of the EFL, are left eagerly waiting developments on the current campaign and how a contract crisis would be handled.

What the pause must bring is a concerted effort to ensure the club is adequately prepared for whichever division they find themselves in next season.

Phil Parkinson has said that while contract resolutions are unlikely at the current time, he will look to forge two separate plans with the hierarchy.

One for a budget that follows promotion to the Championship, and one for a third season in League One.

What is most important is that Sunderland avoid the situation they found themselves in last summer, when the takeover by real estate businessman Mark Campbell collapsed.

The Black Cats were left playing catch up as they sought to recruit in time for the new campaign.

That could be even more critical this time around, given the uncertainty and potentially short turn around ahead of any new campaign, whenever that might be.