Owner Ellis Short insists Sunderland should be challenging for a place in the top half of the Premier League rather than fighting against the drop to League One.
The Texas businessman has come in for concerted criticism from Black Cats fans in the wake of the club's relegation from the top flight and subsequent slide down the Championship table.
Manager Simon Grayson paid for a dreadful start to life in the second tier -- Sunderland have won only one of their 15 league games to date this season -- with his job on Tuesday night with the Wearside outfit languishing in the relegation zone.