David Moyes confident sale talk won't affect Sunderland - but admits it could be hard to persuade Ellis Short to spend in January

Short’s attempts to sell Sunderland were thrust back into the spotlight this week when a brochure produced by New York-based investment bank, Inner Circle Sports, came to light, effectively advertising the club’s assets to potential buyers.

Short, who is looking for around £170m to sell his 100 per cent stake in the Black Cats, has held talks with a number of interested parties, with the majority of his focus having been trained on the Far East. However, none of the discussions have resulted in a formal offer for the club, which is currently saddled with debts of around £140m.

On the field, Sunderland returned to the foot of the table when they lost at Liverpool last weekend, but as he prepares for this afternoon’s game with reigning champions Leicester City, Moyes is adamant any off-pitch issues will not affect his players’ performance.

“It is not a problem,” said the Scotsman, who has lost another of his midfielders with Lynden Gooch nursing an ankle injury that will keep him on the sidelines for at least two months. “I got it every year at Everton and it never affects the players.

“Will it do that here? No. Players do their job. They have to keep focused no matter what is going on, and I have told them to keep that focus going.

“(At Everton) Bill Kenwright kept me informed all the time. Bill was trying to pass the club on to the right people, and get a situation where money was coming in to allow us to challenge for the top spots and build a new stadium. But you just keep doing your job, out on the pitch.”

Nevertheless, with the January transfer window approaching, Short’s desire to sell up could be a major factor in the level of finance that is available to Moyes next month.

Sunderland’s squad is looking increasingly threadbare, with Lee Cattermole, Paddy McNair and Gooch all having picked up long-term injuries in the last few weeks, and there is a clear need for January investment if the club is not to finally relinquish its top-flight status.

Short will find it impossible to claw back £170m if Sunderland are relegated to the Championship, but having grown disillusioned at the scale of the losses he has already sustained during his tenure at the Stadium of Light, will the Irish-American businessman be persuaded to dig even deeper into his pockets if he has decided it would be best to move on?

Moyes has begun to hold those discussions, and accepts it would be easier to make a compelling argument for investment if his side was to be in a stronger position come the turn of the year.

Win two or three matches between now and New Year’s Day, and Sunderland could be out of the bottom three. Suffer four or five defeats, however, and Short could well conclude that the game is already up.

“I speak with Martin (Bain, chief executive) nearly every day, sometimes nearly every hour because there are so many things we are getting to grips with,” said Moyes, who has been linked with a possible move for Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Kieran Lee. “I have spoken to Ellis on one or two things.

“There is a plan (for January), and it has to be a plan for different scenarios. You don’t always know what scenario you are planning for.

“A couple of wins in the bag would make things look completely different. If not, it will look like a monster of a journey to get out of it.

“We need to show everyone that we are going in an upward direction – our supporters, and also if we want to add players.”

Gooch’s injury is a blow, with the midfielder having been stretchered off after damaging his ankle in an Under-23s game earlier this week.

He was due to see a specialist yesterday, although he is expected to be out for a couple of months even if he does not need surgery.

“It looks like Lynden has damaged a ligament in his ankle,” said Moyes. “He is seeing a specialist, and once he has done that, we will have a clearer outcome.”

Fabio Borini has returned to training, although the Italian remains at least a couple of weeks away from a potential return to the first team, while Jan Kirchhoff is expected to be on the bench this afternoon after shaking off a sickness bug that has prevented him from training for most of the week.