SAM ALLARDYCE has warned that Sunderland’s players could face a substantial pay cut if they fail to keep Premier League football at the Stadium of Light this season – meaning there will be no contract talks until the club’s future is secure.

Despite signs of improvement since taking over, Allardyce has won just one of his three matches in charge and the Black Cats remain in the relegation zone.

The Sunderland boss is looking to tinker with his squad in the new year, so the next six weeks could be crucial for the players he has inherited to impress.

Steven Fletcher, who has scored twice under the new boss, Danny Graham and Adam Johnson are all set to become free agents next summer, while relegation would also lead to salary reductions on existing contracts because of clauses plus player sales.

Allardyce said: “If you’re contract is running out then where do you go? It’s not one of the easy situations today where a free transfer is the ultimate.

“It might not be what a player wants any more, because it can create panic in your life as a professional, with your family that you might not get that ultimate contract which you think you are worth.

“And if it’s a move outside the Premier League then financially you are talking a small percentage of what you are earning now. So keeping a team in the Premier League and staying in the Premier League for as long as you possibly can is what a player’s goal should be.

“That’s where it all is, that’s where it all happens. Both from an enjoyment side and the entertainment worldwide, but also to what it brings to you and your family financially.”

Out of the three senior players whose contracts are expiring at the end of the season, Fletcher has taken the lead and put himself in the manager’s plans. Johnson, too, has shone in two of the three matches so far.

But Allardyce said: “It’s a bit too early to be dishing out new contracts in the position we are in. Any contract to be talked about now would be something that we may consider but more often not if it is a senior player it would be put on hold.

“If it is a young player, like a Duncan Watmore or anyone else in the Under-21s, then yes, but all the senior players, no.

“If a senior player is out of contract then he has to prove something, prove he is worthy of a new contract. It means he has to be a massive contributor to the team and if he can do that then he can negotiate from power.

“The fact he has kept us up means we will probably want to keep him.”

Allardyce has started to explore the transfer market already and is interested in signing former West Brom midfielder Morgan Amalfitano. He was also linked with Queens Park Rangers defender Nedum Onuoha yesterday, although he would not confirm any interest.

His short-term priority is to get the current squad ticking in time to face Southampton tomorrow, when three points could lift Sunderland out of the relegation zone.

And he has admitted he is edging towards scrapping the three centre-back system he used at Everton last Sunday, when he was frustrated by his team’s collapse and 6-2 defeat.

“Without giving too much away, the system probably won’t be used this weekend,” said Allardyce.

“Based on what we had available, we looked at the situation and for 60 minutes it looked like the right system. I don’t think it was the system that let us down, we let ourselves down with individual errors and discipline.”

Allardyce’s options have increased defensively after John O’Shea and Younes Kaboul came through a training session at the Stadium of Light yesterday. Fabio Borini and Ola Toivonen did too, so barring any setbacks all four should be in contention to face the Saints.

But Lee Cattermole, who hobbled off at Goodison Park with an ankle problem, will not play and it is hoped he will be back for the trip to Crystal Palace on November 23.

Allardyce said: "I don't think Lee's injury is that serious, but he won't be fit for the weekend.

"I expect him to be fit when the players get back from international duty the week after next. We don't play again until the Monday, so he's got enough time to recover and I expect him to return for that game."

Liam Bridcutt’s loan move to Leeds United, meanwhile, is on the verge of collapse.

Allardyce said: "It looks like it's confused, like Leeds seem to be. It doesn't look like it's going through because he turned up here for training today. I'll have to pick the phone up and speak to (Leeds manager) Steve Evans about it."