A long way from safety with just a handful of games remaining, it appears that successive relegations are all but secured for Chris Coleman's Sunderland side.

The former Welsh national team boss was drafted in to replace Simon Grayson early in the campaign to steer the Wearsiders away from the drop, but poor performances from a pitiful squad have seen the Premier League regulars almost certainly plummet into the doldrums of the third tier.

A far cry from trips Old Trafford and Stamford Bride, Sunderland will be returning to a familiar ground in Highbury; not Arsenal's famous old stadium in north London, but Fleetwood Town's home in the north west.

Many from the playing squad must stand up and admit their failures, with Lee Cattermole particularly standing out as a man to have let the club and its fans down this season.

On a big money contract until 2021, the player will be thinking long and hard about this trio of questions when he departs for what will be a miserable summer break...

Who would dare take a punt on Cattermole given how woeful he has been for Sunderland this season?

The Championship looks beyond his level, let alone the Premier League.

Not one manager will look at the market and consider Cattermole as a viable option given his form and likely wage demands; a move is just not feasible.

He has shot himself in the foot but failing to live up to expectations and step forward as a leader in this side and quite frankly does not deserve to be playing any higher than the third tier.

There is absolutely no way Sunderland can afford to keep Cattermole in League One.

The midfielder is reportedly on £50,000 a week, which is double that of entire squads at this level.

Attendances have already taken a hit at The Stadium of Light and will continue to plummet ahead of the new campaign and football players in the third tier do simply not earn this kind of money.

However, getting him off the wage bill could be a struggle as previously mentioned, who would want him at that price?

This is an awkward situation for both parties.

A key figure in this squad, Cattermole was rewarded with a £50,000 a week contract extension just several years ago and is not repaying the faith in him shown by previous management and the board.

If that wasn't bad enough, what about the extremely loyal fans that have turned up week in week out to watch the dross that has been on offer on Wearside this season?

Cattermole is a tough-tackling, no-nonsense middle man who should evoke passion and desire from the fans in the red and white stripes and he has done that in the past, yet his motivation evaporated the moment he exited the top flight.

Whilst on a beautiful beach in a five-star hotel, the 30-year-old should be having a long, hard think about himself.

Sunderland fans, will you be able to move Cattermole on in the summer?