Speaking on Off the Ball after yet another defeat for Sunderland in Saturday's game against Southampton, Gary Breen and Alan McLoughlin talked about the trouble that the Black Cats find themselves in.
Despite picking up a win in the derby against Newcastle, the results have not changed very much since Sam Allardyce was appointed, and as a former Sunderland player, Breen is particularly concerned as he watches the situation unfold.
He stated that Allardyce is the right man for the job, and the board would have said to him "just make sure we retain our Premier League status and we'll address everything else about the fact that we're always in this situation every year [later]. If I had to pick anyone to do that, it would probably be him [Allardyce]"
However, he stated that while the new manager is "no fool" and would have known what he was getting himself into, now that he's in the door, "he'll have assessed the squad and I think he'll be really worried".
When it comes to the transfer market, the club have invested in the team in recent years, but there's no denying that many of the signings simply haven't worked out.
For Breen, that comes down to the hierarchy, and what they're doing to bring the right players to the club.
"This is the problem that Sunderland have at the moment," said Breen, speaking about the lack of strong characters in the side. "It's such a wonderful club, it's a big club, but unless you play for them you don't understand that. These Premier League players are so reluctant to go up there that the ones that invariably do are the ones that don't have any other offers".
Even when it comes to recruiting younger players who are looking for firs team football, Breen was pessimistic about the chances of the Black Cats on that front either, saying "would you genuinely go to Sunderland where the manager changes every year? You're probably thinking there's no consistency, there's no planning".
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.
