JACK ROSS is ready to start the process of recruitment in a bid to get Sunderland geared up for a title challenge in League One, while insisting he is open to the idea of keeping a number of players at the club.

Following Ross’ appointment last week by new owner Stewart Donald, this summer is set to be one of huge change on the squad front with the Black Cats already being linked with a long list of players.

Hibernian duo John McGinn and Dylan McGeough, Burton’s Tom Naylor, Peterborough’s Marcus Maddison, Celtic’s Lewis Morgan and St Mirren pair Gavin Reilly and Kyle Magennis have all been linked so far.

Ross is determined to put his own stamp on the team in the weeks ahead, eyeing up a number of signings before the start of pre-season later this month, and he will also have to make a number of decisions on players he has inherited.

As well as the four players who are out of contract, Ross has players who earning hefty wage packets who could be sold on if the right offers come along – even if Donald has indicated that it is not essential.

One player on his way is centre-half John O’Shea who is set to complete a move to Reading after both O’Shea and Sunderland agreed not to take up an extra year option on his contract.

But there is no disguising that if suitable deals came up for certain players, like Jack Rodwell, then Sunderland would let them go. Wahbi Khazri, who has a £5m price-tag, and Lamine Kone are two of the players most likely to be sold for a fee.

Ross said: “The in-depth discussions haven’t yet been had. We understand as a club that we have assets because there are good players here. They’ve had a couple of difficult seasons but there are still good individual players who will naturally be of interest to other clubs.

“Then those players have to assess if that’s better for them moving forward than being part of this progression at Sunderland.

“Those questions will be answered over the coming days. Once the holes in the squad become clear, the process of bringing players in to fill the holes will become clearer as well. I’ve got a lot of work to do on that in a short period of time but there’s still enough time for us to hopefully get that right.”

Khazri spent last season on loan at Rennes and Sunderland are understood to have rejected an offer for his services. It was reported in Turkey over the weekend that he had asked for a free transfer on the basis of relegation to League One, but Sunderland are unlikely to let that happen.

Rodwell’s case is different. He has not played a game since September and, despite being forced to take a pay cut this year, his lucrative deal means he could be offloaded on the cheap – if someone is willing to take over his terms.

Ross, though, insists he has not even made a decision on the former Manchester City man yet.

The Sunderland boss said: “He just falls into the same bracket as everything else. He’s part of the assessment of the squad and what we can have within it and what’s the right mix for us. It’s a question of who wants to be here and who wants to be in this league.

“We need to have players who are desperate to play for this club, and maybe not desperate to play in this league necessarily, but who understand the challenge of what lies ahead to get us promoted.

“I haven’t really differentiated between different problems at this stage and different players, they all fall under the same bracket.

“Day one of pre-season is not all that far away so we’ve got a lot to do in a short period of time and it really starts now and I’m looking forward to it. I feel I haven’t started doing the job properly yet.”

Ross will allow O’Shea to depart on a free transfer this week now he has made his final international experience.

The 37-year-old is out of contract at the end of the month along with Marc Wilson, Kazenga LuaLua and Billy Jones.

O’Shea captained Ireland in their 2-1 friendly victory over USA at the Aviva Stadium, and was treated to a standing ovation when he was replaced by Darragh Leinhan on 34 minutes.

He has said he will “cherish” the memory of having his children at his final international game, and says they will come to appreciate the moment when they are old enough.

O’Shea went on to thank his family for being there to celebrate the landmark moment in his international career in which he won 117 caps for his country since making his debut in 2001.

“To have my family here and half of Waterford here was an amazing occasion and one I’ll remember for a long time,” he said.

“I was close [to welling up] but the good thing was my little girl Ruby, she was doing all the welling up and had to calm her down eventually.

“She was a tonne weight on my arm, I was thinking, ‘I best not drop her,’ but that’s the thing I’ll cherish most when they can look back on that too when they’re old enough. It’s something I’ll be immensely proud of going forward.”

Debutant Graham Burke and Alan Judge scored the Ireland goals to cancel out a Bobby Wood effort just before half-time, meaning O’Shea could sign off with a win for Martin O’Neill’s side.

“It was brilliant, the boys went and won the game as well in the end,” the Waterford man said. “We know the boys, we can play much better. The tempo was a little bit slow but I think the goal woke us up a bit.

“It was great for Burke and for Alan Judge too after all the suffering he’s had with the long-term injuries. I think James [McClean] was still giving out to him, he wanted to hit it but it was brilliant to finish.”

O’Shea had offered no indication if he wanted to either keep playing club football after retiring from international football or stay with Sunderland.

But, as one of the club’s senior professionals and highest earners, he won’t be around as Ross starts his tenure in charge.