There were enough signs on Saturday that Gus Poyet's Sunderland days were numbered after a humiliating 4-0 defeat to an Aston Villa who had previously found goals hard to come by.
And it was confirmed this morning when the manager was relieved of his duties, with Dutchman Dick Advocaat linked to the vacant position.
As The Telegraph's North-East correspondent Luke Edwards told Off The Ball tonight, the sacking was not a surprise as Sunderland hover above the relegation zone.
"The panic is borne out of the fact that a club like Sunderland, if they go down, would lose the Premier League money, and there's absolutely no guarantee that they will come back up. They've had to act, basically. It's a desperate last throw of the dice," he said.
Edwards also spoke about the needless clashes with the media and fans which helped accelerate Poyet's downfall, describing it as the "lashings out of a floundering man".
But he also feels that the quality of players has been the key problem for the club through the Martin O'Neill, Paolo Di Canio and Poyet spells in charge.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
