'Element of risk' in 'third summer of consecutive major transformation'

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A "third summer of consecutive major transformation" in infrastructure at Sunderland carries with it an "element of risk", says former Black Cats striker Marco Gabbiadini.

The proposed developments include multi-million pound investment in stadium infrastructure, premium executive boxes, a new LED perimeter advertising system, and investment being made in the Academy of Light to further develop elite performance environments for the men's teams, the women's team and the academy teams.

The club say the changes are "designed to enhance experience for supporters, players, partners and staff".

Speaking on BBC Radio Newcastle, Gabbiadini said: "We had massive job cuts after the first relegation and even bigger ones on the second relegation,"

"This is basically just getting the club back up to where it was at that stage and probably a little bit more as well.

"So, you know, the sad reality is that if we did get relegated, a lot of these jobs would go again.

"I suppose the way to think for the leadership group is that if we get all this stuff right, if we get more substance in what's going on behind the scenes, then it's not just about the players.

"You've got to really believe that you're still going to be in at the status that we are in at the moment so there is an element of risk to it.

"I know that it was very upsetting for a lot of people because obviously a lot of the staff are local and when when those two relegations happened they really affected a lot of people and ripped the heart out of the football club for a long time.

"It wasn't just people working there, I know a lot of fans stopped going to games and didn't renew season tickets and haven't been back.

"I think now they're looking at it with the advent of parachute payments with the infrastructure they're building and their assumption would be if the worst came to the worst and they were relegated then, like most Premier League teams who have gone down in recent years, they would come back within one or two years."

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