IT was the briefest and most unremarkable of moments, but in so many ways, it was the perfect summation of Sunderland’s plight.

Midway through the second half at Gillingham on Tuesday night, with the Black Cats trying to force the breakthrough that had eluded them for more than an hour, Alim Ozturk sent a hopeful 60-yard ball arcing towards Will Grigg. Grigg just about managed to get the top of his chest to the ball, only for Gillingham captain Max Ehmer to clatter into him from behind and stroll away with possession.

Clambering to his feet, Grigg pleaded for a free-kick. Duncan Watmore, a couple of yards away from him, did the same. Referee Alan Young waved play on. Eighteen months into their stay in the division, and Sunderland are still trying to come to terms with life in League One.

Phil Parkinson knows all about the third tier, indeed his track record of getting teams promoted in the lower leagues was one of the key reasons why Stewart Donald and Charlie Methven appointed him. He has watched Sunderland’s matches under his predecessor, Jack Ross, and assessed the performances from the early weeks of his own reign, and appears to have concluded that Sunderland need to change their style if they are to return to the Championship.

On the evidence of Tuesday’s performance at Gillingham’s Priestfield Stadium, along with the general themes of his public comments in the last few weeks, he wants his team to be more direct. Not necessarily long ball, but certainly keener to get the ball forward quickly in order to be able to play off the players in the final third. That was Gillingham’s approach, and the Black Cats seemed keen to mimic it. “We knew how they were going to play, and we knew we would have to match that,” said Parkinson, in his post-match interview.

The key problem, however, is that Sunderland cannot play that game, or at least not with the players that make up the current squad. Ross’ philosophy was based around the importance of possession. Hold on to the ball, don’t be afraid to go backwards if you have to, pull opponents around in order to create space for attackers to exploit. In so many ways, it is the anathema of what Parkinson wants to do, but understandably, Ross recruited players to suit his model rather than a more traditional view of what might be most effective in League One.

So, as he ponders his selection for a home game against Coventry City on Saturday that has assumed huge importance despite coming so early in his reign, Parkinson finds himself scanning a squad that, if he was able to be 100 per cent honest, he might well conclude is not fit for purpose.

Unless Charlie Wyke recovers from injury, there is no physical presence up front. There isn’t really any pace in the final third either, with Ross having opted for technical players like Will Grigg or enthusiastic runners such as Chris Maguire and Luke O’Nien. There are plenty of central-midfield options, but no one with the presence or athleticism to dominate the central area. All over the pitch, Sunderland’s players tend to be shorter than their opponents. Under Ross, that wasn’t always a defining issue. Under Parkinson, it is a massive handicap.

How do you solve it? By overhauling the squad in January, but as Sunderland have learned countless times to their cost in the last decade or so, trying to replace a squad of players that suited one manager with a new cast list selected by his successor is both expensive and exceptionally difficult to achieve.

The ‘revolving door’ policy has been a key contributor to Sunderland’s slide into the third tier, yet here we are, with January fast approaching, once again listening to a manager talking about “the need to make changes” once the transfer window opens.

Methven and Donald have hinted there will be movement at the turn of the year, but it is hardly going to be a simple process. Money will remain tight unless a significant chunk of the £9m FPP loan is earmarked for transfers, but those funds have already been designated for capital expenditure and as Sunderland should know only too well, loaning money to lavish on transfer fees and wages is a sure-fire way to make a bad situation worse. Players could leave, but it’s hard to imagine too many Championship clubs queuing up to sign a Watmore or an Aiden McGeady, and Sunderland’s League One rivals would almost certainly balk at their wages.

There will be a degree of change, but it will not be a wholesale revolution, meaning Parkinson will almost certainly spend the second half of the season presiding over a ‘mix-and-match’ squad containing a handful of players who suit his requirements and plenty that do not.

That is what happens in the absence of a long-term plan or a robust recruitment structure independent of any managerial reshuffles. It means you get the wrong players for the job in hand, and explains why Grigg was having to dust himself down so regularly on Tuesday.