SUNDERLAND chief executive Hugh Roberts last night quit the club as they reported spiralling debts of more than £26m - but insisted: "I'm not a scapegoat."

Roberts revealed yesterday that he will bring his two-year association with Sunderland to an end on May 31.

But as he emerged as the public face of the Stadium of Light boardroom to explain their poor interim results, Roberts maintained Sunderland's perilous financial plight was not the reason behind his impending exit.

He said: "I'm not a scapegoat for this. You get a million and one opinions, but if people think that then they're not right.

"Emotionally, deciding to leave was very hard because I've got lots of friends here and I love this club enormously.

"But professional decisions are fairly easy to come to.

"I joined the club as a Premiership club and there were things to do then.

"We're now going to become a Nationwide League club, and a different team needs to take the club forward.

"It's a shame because I love the area. We have an absolutely fabulous stadium, and I'll be very sad when I leave."

Roberts is leaving a club that will be operating in a financial straitjacket for the foreseeable future after relegation is confirmed, possibly as early as Saturday.

The spend, spend, spend days of football have been replaced by a more thrifty outlook on life from bosses throughout the country.

Roberts said: "More and more clubs are recognising you have to adjust what you pay out, according to what you get in.

"Arsenal said a couple of weeks ago that even Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires had to realise the financial realities of the present time.

"When clubs like that talk in those terms, you can see the whole picture has changed.

"We've always tried to have quite a big bonus payment system here.

"That way, you're paying people for success, which is a good method."

Sunderland have resigned themselves to relegation and are trying to cut their cloth accordingly.

Roberts added: "Contingency plans for the Nationwide League are always at the back of your mind.

"As the season progresses, and as things on the pitch don't work out, then you obviously have to bring them forward.

"By the time we appointed Mick McCarthy, those plans were on their way to being put in place.

"Bringing in Mick was all about creating a new future for the club, and by the end of the season he'll have had nine competitive games to look at the squad."

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