After consecutive relegations Sunderland find themselves in League One next season and club legend Kevin Phillips is broken hearted.
Two seasons and as many relegations have made for a thoroughly miserable time for fans of Sunderland.
The Wearsiders have endured a slow and torturous decent into the third tier – the first time they have dropped so low in 30 years.
The misery for Sunderland and their fans stretches back further, though, with the Black Cats ‘getting away with murder’ for many years before their eventual demotion from the top flight under David Moyes last year.
The writing was very much on the wall and it is a world away from the glory years under Peter Reid with Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips leading the line.
Speaking to talkSPORT, Sunderland legend Phillips – who scored 113 goals in 208 games on Wearside – admitted he was heartbroken but remains upbeat for a new dawn under new ownership in the coming years.
“Lessons learned, you flirt with relegation for that long in the Premier League you’re going to fall through the trapdoor,” Phillips told talkSPORT.
“To see them go through another one down into League One it breaks your heart.
“I just hope now with the new owners going in they can all move forward, they can freshen the squad up, get rid of a load of players and start again.
“I’m actually looking forward to seeing how they progress now next season and in the coming years.”
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