WHEN I was told to expect some breaking Sunderland news on Thursday afternoon, I thought that Gus Poyet's time was up.

While I still thought the Uruguayan had a future on Wearside, on the other hand I could understand if he wanted to cut his losses and walk; I could also understand if the club had pressed the panic button and sacked him.

It turns out he has neither been fired nor has he quit. Instead, Poyet took the unprecedented step of writing an open letter to the fans, insisting that results were his responsibility and calling for positivity.

This could easily be dismissed as club PR spin. But it simply is not. Poyet wrote the words off his own bat. They are clearly the words of someone for whom English is not a first language.

And, far from the world of spin and PR - it's written from the heart.

He spoke about the first time he realised Sunderland were a big deal - when his Chelsea side were losing 4-0 at half-time at the Stadium of Light. He scored in the second half to make it 4-1 but Chelsea were stunned by Sunderland under Peter Reid.

That stuck with Poyet, who, more than a decade on, took the job with those memories in mind.

"When I had the opportunity to become the head coach of Sunderland AFC, I just closed my eyes and remember me sitting at the away dressing room at the Stadium of Light at half time, 4-0 down, Sunderland 4 Chelsea 0, incredible atmosphere, one of the best I ever felt," he wrote.

"So the decision was easy, yes I would love the possibility of coaching Sunderland with those fans. Luckily I got the job."

Yes, he understands the magnitude of the role. And yes, he recognises a need to improve. But he's calling for patience and positivity. Neither of those qualities are in an abundance on Wearside at the moment.

Will this letter work? I doubt it will help those who have already made their mind up.

But I feel Poyet's detractors are a vocal minority, and there is still a groundswell of support for a manager that delivered a remarkable rescue act last season including Sunderland's first trip to a Wembley cup final in more than 20 years.

For those who have made their mind up, Poyet is damned if he does, and damned if he doesn't.

As for the decision to communicate this via an open letter, and not the press - is that a bloody nose to the media? I'm not sure.

I agree that sections of the national press have taken some of his words out of context - his comments on 'kick and rush' football in particular, and it's sad in a way that he has had to go to these lengths to get his message across without misinterpretation.

The overriding feeling from reading his statement is that Poyet is a passionate man. He's got good ideas, and he wants to change the side for the better.

Whether he gets the time to deliver that is another story, but this, for me, certainly won't hurt his attempts.