SUNDERLAND Football Club’s announcement that around 40 jobs are to go is a massive blow to those employees affected by the restructuring programme.

While players continue to pocket wages of up to £80,000-a-week, the club will be laying off people who earn less than half that amount in a year. That the announcement comes a matter of days after the first-team squad travelled to New York for a training break merely adds to the impression that it is grossly unfair.

Yet while it is impossible to defend the inflated salaries enjoyed by Premier League footballers, Sunderland chief executive Martin Bain should not be criticised for trying to restructure a business that has become overblown and unwieldy.

Sunderland lost around £25m in the last financial year and are now saddled with debts of around £140m because of years of neglectful mismanagement. With owner Ellis Short wanting to sell, the club risks a financial crisis unless it addresses its problems.

Clearly, avoiding relegation to the Championship should be the primary concern. But Bain is right to look beyond the current on-field struggles and conclude that Sunderland are also getting a lot more wrong.

Initiatives such as the tie-up with Invest In Africa were ill-judged attempts to establish a “global brand” when Sunderland should have been concentrating on strengthening local links. Why were club employees flying to Tanzania and South Korea in an attempt to drum up interest when home crowds were falling?

We want all the North-East’s football clubs to be as ambitious as possible, but they should also be mindful of their unique positions at the heart of the communities they serve.

Sunderland have risked losing that bond, and Bain should be commended for trying to re- establish it. Sadly, that might mean some short-term pain as sights are realigned.