FAN LETTERS: “To my fellow Sunderland supporters - stop hassling Stewart Donald on Twitter!”

Dear Roker Report,

As being born to Scottish descendants - both my grandparents we born north of the border - I have strong links and affection for the country.

I also understand that when a new manager comes in he will bring in people he knows, but I am slightly concerned by the amount of players we are linked with that play their football in the Scottish leagues. I do feel (taking Celtic out of the equation) that the vast majority of teams are only of English League One standard.

I personally think we have the money and pulling power to be signing young players that are of championship standard. If we can sell them the vision the club has of going forward - and if Jack Ross gets things right - this could be the start of the revolution our club and fans deserve.

I still have reservations as I don’t know enough about Ross - I would have preferred to keep Coleman with his experience, and especially his connections to bring top quality loan players for the bigger English clubs, but all send for my sins I’m red and white to my heart’s core like everyone else who is at our fantastic stadium week after week.

So, no matter what happens or who is in charge, we’ll be there giving 100% and that is why our club and supporters are the best in the country.

Good luck Jack Ross - we’re all behind you.

Iain Gibbs

Ed’s Note [Gav]: I honestly wouldn’t worry about us being linked with players from the Scottish Premiership. Jon McLaughlin was voted as the top ‘keeper in that league last season which shows his quality, whilst Dylan Mcgeough is very highly rated and, again, was seen as one of the best players in the division during the 2017/18 campaign.

Don’t get too hung up on our early business. The fact is that we need to sign about 15 players in total, so you’re going to get a variation of talent and skill-levels. We’ve got money to spend but we have to use it wisely, and at the minute we’re signing solid players with proven backgrounds that see this club as a genuine opportunity to better themselves - and that has to be a positive.

For me, Jack Ross comes in with perhaps the best chance that any manager at this level has ever been afforded. Huge club, new owners, free rein on assembling a backroom team, the ability to totally restructure his squad, a clean slate and a fanbase behind him that have been battered and bruised by years of neglect. He’s taken on, in my eyes, the perfect job.

Sunderland AFC via Getty Images

Dear Roker Report,

To some of our fans - leave Stewart Donald alone! How many times does he need to answer the same questions on Twitter? He gets the same questions every day - why does he need to repeat himself all the time?

If you listened to the insightful, wonderful and quite frankly best podcasts around with the chaps from Roker Report, you would have all the answers you need.

Just let him get on with running the club, and let him get it back on track.

Yes, we all want to know what is going on, but there is a thing called overkill.

He only took over in June, had to clear out people from their jobs, deal with the press, find a new manager, sort out funds for transfers (which will happen, just chill) and so much more - he can’t be every fans beck and call.

Also, with transfers - if we don’t get a target then move on, it’s not Stewart’s fault that the player wanted to go else. Transfers take time, and if you listened to the podcast you would know that.

Just be patient. Good things come to those who wait, and Rome wasn’t built in a day and all that. Would you rather get shed-loads of players in on high wages, or would you prefer us to take our time and get the right players in for the right price?

We have to remember we are in League 1, we can’t attract Premier League players, we have a small pond to fish in - we need to cast the line a few times to find a few gems. And if you look hard enough, there are some talented players in the lower leagues.

I have a good feeling about the future for our club. Let’s build on this feeling and let’s have no negativity going into this season, which is possibly the most important one we have had in years.

Hannah Brown

Ed’s Note [Gav]: I can’t really disagree with any of that. I think that a small issue with our owner being so open and honest is that there are some supporters that think they deserve to know every single detail of what is going on. It’s about understanding the amount of work our new owners have to undertake in order to get the squad ready for the new season, and unfortunately it would appear that there are some that can’t accept that not all our business will be done immediately, or that there are other clubs that will beat us to signing players.