DAVID MOYES has resigned from his position as Sunderland manager.

The Scotsman leaves the Stadium of Light after a disastrous season that saw him preside over the Black Cats' relegation to the Championship.

He met Sunderland's owner, Ellis Short, in London this morning to discuss the fall-out from the club's relegation and a potential budget for next season.

The meeting ended with Moyes resigning from his position, and he has turned down a significant amount of compensation that he would have been due if he had been dismissed.

In a statement, Short said: "I pursued the services of David Moyes for a considerable period prior to his appointment last summer, which makes the announcement of his departure difficult for everyone concerned.

"Having worked tirelessly throughout the campaign to avoid relegation from the Premier League, David has chosen to leave the club without compensation, which is testament to his character.

"In the days ahead we will take some time for reflection, and then focus on recruitment and pre-season as we prepare for our Championship campaign. We wish David well in the future."

As part of the statement, Moyes added: "I would like to thank Ellis Short and the board for giving me the opportunity to manage Sunderland and the fans for always being so passionately supportive of their club.

"I wish the players and my successor well in their efforts towards promotion back to the Premier League."

Moyes' final game in charge came at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, and saw him lead his Sunderland side to a 5-1 defeat to Chelsea.

“Good riddance” was the reaction of long-time Sunderland fan Gary Lamb, who has chalked up hundreds of thousands of miles following the Black Cats down the years.

The east Durham lorry driver said he was warned of the dour nature of Moyes’ teams by friends on Merseyside who followed Everton during the Scotsman’s reign as Toffees’ manager.

“I could not believe what they were saying. To a man all those I spoke with were negative about him and the way he had them playing, even when they were sitting sixth in the table.

“They just wanted rid of him and I can now see why.”

Mr Lamb said he has become disillusioned with the club and the way it was being run in recent seasons.

Asked about a potential successor, he said he agreed with the suggestion of ex-Sunderland full-back Micky Gray, who threw the combination of club legend super strike Kevin Phillips with a more experienced side-kick into the ring.

Paul Dobson, a member of the editorial team at the award-winning Sunderland fanzine, A Love Supreme, spoke of his sense of relief that the unpopular Moyes finally appeared to have bitten the bullet.

He said the mood music had not been good since the manager’s early season premonition of his team being set for a relegation struggle.

“Things have not changed since last summer in terms of performances and results.

“You never quite knew what formation we were going to play.

“Even in January he said the players he brought in weren’t any better than what he had.

“It hadn’t quite turned nasty, but it wasn’t far away, and I can only say that when I heard the announcement I just felt a huge sense of relief.”

As for a replacement, he urged the club to act quickly to avoid a repeat of the void of much of last summer after Sam Allardyce became favourite to replace Roy Hodgson as England manager.

“It should be somebody up and coming, with a bit of hunger, rather than somebody who has been about a bit who is, maybe, past it.”

But he added that feared that the new manager may be taking over “a poisoned chalice” unless some transfer funds are made available to him.