MARTIN BAIN is leaving his position as Sunderland’s chief executive following Stewart Donald’s successful takeover of the club.

Bain is the first high-profile casualty of the new regime, with the majority of his duties likely to be taken over by incoming director Charlie Methven, who sat alongside Donald at his introductory press conference yesterday.

A former chief executive at Rangers and Maccabi Tel Aviv, Bain joined Sunderland in 2016 to replace Margaret Byrne, who left in the wake of the Adam Johnson scandal.

He was involved in the unsuccessful appointments of David Moyes, Simon Grayson and Chris Coleman, and presided over back-to-back relegations as Sunderland dropped from the Premier League into League One.

However, the club’s most recent set of accounts showed he still pocketed an annual salary of £1.2m in the Premier League relegation season, making him the highest-paid chief executive in Sunderland’s history.

Bain said: "My position of CEO at Sunderland AFC has been made redundant and I will be leaving the club with immediate effect.

"I wish the new owners and those involved with the club moving forward, well for the future.

"During the last two years I have had the honour and pleasure of working alongside a dedicated and passionate group of staff, who have nothing but the best interests of the club at their core.

"I am hugely appreciative of the steadfast support they have given me and I truly hope that they get to enjoy happier times.

"It has been a testing period personally in exceptionally difficult circumstances and I sincerely wish for a brighter future for the club and its supporters."

Donald said: "We would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Martin for all of his efforts during his time at the club and in particular for his work during the takeover process, which we very much appreciate. We wish him well for the future."