CHRIS COLEMAN admits Sunderland are a ‘club without an identity’ because of the extensive upheaval of the last few years, and would be devastated if he had to leave Wearside without a genuine opportunity to put that right.

The Black Cats look destined to spend next season in the third tier of English football for only the second time in their history, and Coleman accepts that a succession of bad decisions and knee-jerk investments have finally taken their toll.

The Welshman became Sunderland’s fourth permanent manager in less than 18 months when he took over from Simon Grayson in November, and each of his predecessors bequeathed a group of signings that represented their own plans for development, but that did not necessarily chime with what their successors were aiming to create.

In Grayson’s case, his new arrivals were largely a combination of loans and free signings, with Ellis Short having refused any meaningful expenditure on new additions, and the upshot is a squad made up of a variety of composite parts, that does not really hang together as a functioning whole.

“If you look at us at the minute, we have a bit of this and a bit of that,” said Coleman, whose side are six points adrift of safety with four games remaining ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Reading. “But you couldn’t really put a label on us and say, ‘We are definitely that type of team’. It’s hard then, because you haven’t really got an identity. That’s tough, but that’s probably where we are.

“I understand the recruitment decisions that have been made. I understand why Simon did it, and I probably would have done it myself. We’ve had to make so many loan signings because you don’t have the finance to go and make permanent deals.

“You have to get a squad together somehow, but it doesn’t always work out when you have to do that. When you’re winning, and you’re up at the other end of the league, sometimes you have the same problems, but they don’t look half as bad. But I think if you’re going to put a team together, you have to do it in a certain way, especially at a club like this.”

Whatever happens in the next four matches, Coleman has already confirmed his desire to remain in his current position in order to begin a process of rebuilding next season.

At the moment, it is hard to make too many predictions about the future, partly because of Sunderland’s league position, and partly because of Short’s continued desire to sell the club.

If a new owner was to emerge in the next few months, it is conceivable that Coleman could be given money to spend, even if Sunderland were to find themselves in League One. Even if Short was to remain in charge, a guaranteed parachute payment of £35m should mean there is an opportunity to invest something in the squad.

Coleman is realistic about the financial pressures at play, particularly as most of Sunderland’s senior players do not have clauses in their contract resulting in a wage reduction on relegation to League One.

However, he does not think it will take an astronomical amount to enable the club to get back on an even keel, and remains hopeful he will be given a realistic opportunity to start turning things around.

“It might be asking for too much, but I’d love to have three or four transfer windows to build something here,” he said. “It won’t take billions to put this together. I honestly don’t think it would take all that much to get it going.

“If you’re talking about trying to get to the Premier League, then that’s a different story. But just to get this thing going and turned around, I don’t think it would take all that much.

“If there was to be new owners, I wouldn’t be sitting in front of them saying I need £25m. I don’t think it will take anything like that. But it does need sound investment, and it needs players to be the right age and the right type to get it moving in the right direction.

“There’s a nucleus of players that we can work with and add to, and that are the right ages. Of course, I’d be disappointed if I wasn’t given the chance to try to do that. I’d be happy for the club if someone else did it and made a success of it because I just want to see the club moving forwards, but I’d absolutely love it to be me.”

In the meantime, Coleman will focus his attention on trying to pull off a miraculous escape in the final four games. Tuesday’s 89th-minute concession to Norwich was a hammer blow, but with Birmingham and Bolton both losing, all is not yet lost.

“Football being football, surprises happen all the time,” said the Sunderland boss. “We’ve been there a while, but it doesn’t mean we can’t pull something out and take it to the wire.

“Our job is to make sure that at 5pm on Saturday we’re still in the fight, and the other teams are looking at it and saying we haven’t given it up.”

Paddy McNair and Marc Wilson should be available for the trip to Madejski Stadium, but John O’Shea and Adam Matthews are expected to miss out after picking up injuries on Tuesday night.