WHAT would Brian Clough think? It was the sort of question that brought an emotional response from his son, Nigel, after he had just inflicted the result to finally guarantee Sunderland will be playing in the third tier of English football for only the second time in their history next season.

While relegation has been on the cards for months, when confirmation the likes of Accrington and Fleetwood will be visiting the Stadium of Light arrived, it didn’t make it any easier for anyone with an attachment to the club to stomach.

Clough Snr would probably have hunted down Ellis Short by now and given him a clip behind the ear, something Chris Coleman has been unable to do during his six months in charge – in fact he has not even had a single word with him since his appointment.

That in itself highlights why it is difficult to predict Sunderland’s future, with Short disinterested and nowhere near to finding a buyer for the ailing Wearside outfit.

The longer that uncertainty drags on will make it harder for Coleman, or whoever is in charge come August, to have formed a squad capable of bouncing straight back up.

In many respects it was a sign of the times at Sunderland, and perhaps fitting that the Championship’s smallest club, Burton Albion, put the final nail in the proverbial coffin.

Sunderland have won just six games – two at home – all season and have deserved everything that has come their way.

It might have breathed new life into Burton’s own bid to stay up, but it was still not nice for Sunderland-born Clough Jnr to have been the man to put one of his father’s old clubs down.

“He spoke unbelievably affectionately about Sunderland,” said the Burton boss. “When he talked about the club over the years, it was with genuine affection and our little bungalow on the corner.

“I think there were a couple of opportunities over the years of him coming back up here, and he talked about that, what a great thing it would be to manage them. He didn’t talk about many other clubs like that. He never said, ‘I want to manage Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal’ or anything like that – but he talked about this one.

“There have been mistakes over a period of years here. I don’t think it’s been one season, it’s been building for a few seasons. I don’t think many people could have done much more than Chris did. They just have to start building from here.”

The task facing Coleman, if he does stay on, is a huge one. Just because they have a home ground and a training facility that ranks among the best in the country, doesn’t mean they will be guaranteed to go to the Crown Ground or Highbury Stadium and pick up victories.

With huge change on the cards again on the playing side of things – and supporters will hope in the boardroom too – it is difficult to picture what sort of Sunderland team will begin life in the third tier for the first time since 1987.

Will Short still own the club? How much money will there be available to restructure? Will there be more cuts off the pitch? Can Coleman hold on to his job? Just how many fans will buy season tickets for next season?

These are worrying and depressing times for Sunderland. It is just hoped Short can come up with a solution, either by selling or deciding to attack League One, for Sunderland to cope with the debts to spark a revival.

The club statement issued on Friday night closed with the words “rise again” but that will be easier said than done.

“If Ellis was standing here I would ask him what he expects of us,” said Coleman.

“I do not know what he would say if he was standing there and I am not expecting him to be. We just have to be realistic in what can be delivered.

“I know what this club needs. But he may have a different plan. At the minute, he does not want a lot to do with us. He wants out. He has spoken very publicly about that.”

Coleman, who has had 28 games in charge since taking over from Simon Grayson in November, is not looking to purely blame the club’s American owner for the way things have shaped up – even if the fans greeted Burton’s winning goal with “are you watching Ellis Short?”

The Sunderland boss said: “It has not been easy to be honest. I have not witnessed anything like this before where I have never spoken to a chairman. To have no conversation with him at all is bizarre, strange.

“Could I have done better here, could I have done better there?

“I am not going to blame Ellis. I knew what I was walking into and I thought I could have affected it more and I haven’t, not like I wanted to.”

For 86 minutes on Saturday, Sunderland fans didn’t dare think about staying up, even if the chances of that had grown. Paddy McNair’s low, driven shot from the edge of the area, after Ashley Fletcher’s run and pass in the 34th minute, had offered a glimmer of hope.

From there on in, despite Burton’s improved second-half performance, Sunderland edged closer to the full-time whistle and the prospect of moving to within three points of safety with two games remaining.

Enter Darren Bent as a Burton substitute. The former Sunderland striker left controversially in January 2011 for Aston Villa when Sunderland were actually on the up. Since his departure they have been involved in relegation fights every year, and supporters have never forgiven him, illustrated by the deafening boos.

With his second touch of the game, Bent got ahead of Jake Clarke-Salter to nod in the equaliser after he reacted first to Jason Steele’s strong save from Hope Akpan’s strike.

Suddenly the gap to safety was back to five points. Then, in the second minute of stoppage-time, Liam Boyce outmuscled Clarke-Salter to glance in Ben Turner’s cross from the left to send Sunderland down.

There were plenty of complaints moments later when referee Darren England changed his mind on allowing a goal scored by McNair after a chat with his assistant Matt Foley.

It seemed a huge handball call, when in reality an equaliser would have only prolonged the agony for another week.

Bent said: “Of course, I have sympathy. There are still a lot of friends at this club.

“I knew I would get some abuse but never thought reception would be as bad as it was. I know they are hurting but at the same time, things like that, I can’t control.

“If it was going to be us or them relegated, then I prefer it to be them, but Sunderland are still a fantastic football club.

“I still have incredible memories and played my best football of my career here. It is not as simple as me handing in a transfer request.

“There is so much more to the story.

“I may get a bad reception from the fans but this is a special football club. Fantastic. I appreciated every moment I was here.

“It is hard to think this football club and this stadium is now in League One.

“That is scary. It will always hold a special place in my heart.”

Bent’s words will provide no consolation to supporters this morning.

Sunderland, whose players did not face external media questions after the game, will be playing in League One next season.