ELLIS SHORT may not be due to have firm talks about the future until after the season has finished, but manager David Moyes insists Sunderland can be in the “thick of things” in the race for promotion under his watch next season.

There is a lot of doom and gloom around the Stadium of Light ahead of this afternoon’s final home game of a depressing campaign against Swansea City, with plenty of uncertainty about players’ futures and what direction the club is heading.

That is why Moyes, who will hold final talks about his own position after the final game at Chelsea a week tomorrow, has held discussions with those set to become free agents and outlined a clear plan to Short of what is required during the close-season.

The former Everton and Manchester United boss is convinced Sunderland can be a force to be reckoned with in the Championship, even though there is plenty of work to be done on the recruitment front, and that is what Short has been told.

Moyes said: “If we are going to take on that mantle (of being the biggest club in the division) then we’re going to have to carry it off. That’s why our discussions are, ‘how do we do that? How can we do it financially?’ That’s why I’ve included in our plans others teams who have done it, the rough costings of what that has looked like to get up. We need to find out if that is possible.

“But Sunderland will be in the thick of it, I will tell you that now. Because I think they have the core of a team which can challenge. But it is only the core at the moment. We don’t know what changes may or may not happen during the summer.

“I just think the core players looking at the Championship would give us a chance. It wouldn’t be enough players and certain positions would be needed more than others, but there is a decent group of 13 players.”

Moyes’ comments are far more positive than at the start of this season when he quickly suggested a relegation fight was on the cards. He was proved right on that occasion, so supporters will hope his outlook for next season will prove true too.

He knows, though, Sunderland must act quickly to add to that “core group”, which is why the onus will be heavily on Short and chief executive Martin Bain to get the deals done in advance of the start of the next campaign.

He said: “Ideally you would always have your new players in place. Sometimes people want to wait and see what other offers are out there in the open market and that is where the uncertainty comes.

“We could have a top player taken away from us on August 30 and could have used him for eight games. I don’t think there is a certainty to any of that. It is a wait and see situation.

“Sunderland will be near the front of the queue as far as Championship players are concerned. We’ll be a bit closer to the front than in the past. What we need to do is make sure we are in a position to buy the players who want to come.

“The Championship is tougher now because every owner is a billionaire. It means you cannot go into the Championship and buy a player cheaply, I probably made some of my best transfers by buying Tim Cahill, Joleon Lescott … I could go on and on from players I bought over the years.

“I do not think you can do that now. I think if you look last year, Villa paid £12m for Ross McCormack. They also bought the boy from Bristol City (Jonathan Kodjia) for £12m. I think the spend you need now to buy players from the Championship is expensive. “

Sunderland might not have anything to play for this afternoon but Swansea are looking for the result that keeps them out of the bottom three. Moyes, after defeating Hull last weekend, is keen for his players to deliver another victory for the club’s own fans.

Moyes, who revealed George Honeyman has suffered a back injury after Lamine Kone fell on him in training, said: “We will say cheerio to the supporters at the end of it. And say thank you very much, and let themselves get ready for the new season.

“We will dust ourselves down and get ready to go again. The supporters have come out in their numbers all year. There are no qualms about that. They have been brilliant. They have kept with us.

“Recently they have found it tough which you would do as a football supporter. Hopefully we can give them a result. Swansea is a tough game and they have something else going on. We know what we need to do.”