Ex-Sunderland boss Chris Coleman has admitted that relegation still 'hurts him' after the Welshman oversaw their drop into League One. 

Coleman inherited a troubled club when he took over in November 2017 with the Black Cats seemingly in freefall after their relegation from the Premier League.

Sunderland suffered their second successive relegation that season as the Black Cats dropped out of the Championship and are still trying to find their way out of League One, four years later.

Despite taking over a club that was already hurtling towards the third-tier, Chris Coleman has admitted that being unable to prevent relegation still hurts him a lot.

Speaking to the i, the 51-year-old said: "When the job came up even though they were bottom of the league I just thought, 'I'm not going to turn that down'. They've got such potential.

"It's the biggest regret of my career because we got relegated and that was unthinkable. It was so frustrating because we were helpless a little bit."

The former Wales manager also admitted that he had no idea the Netflix documentary series 'Sunderland Til I Die' was being filmed at the same time: "I didn't even know there was a documentary happening.

"I didn't even know about the cameras until after I signed the contract. I was a bit surprised. It wasn't my cup of tea, cameras in the dressing room and following you around.

"I can't watch it, it's too painful for me."

Sunderland will be hoping they can end their stay in League One as they come up against Wycombe in the playoff final next weekend.

The Verdict

It's certainly an interesting conversation as Coleman speaks honestly about that painful season.

It goes to show that mismanagement upstairs can have a huge impact on a team and even after appointing Coleman, who was fresh after delivering a semi-final place for Wales at Euro 2016.

But Sunderland certainly have a brighter future with a younger squad and a manager in Alex Neil who knows what it takes to win games and be successful.

You wonder therefore, whether Coleman might feel differently about how things went for him at Sunderland if they are able to end their stay in League One with promotion to the Championship on Saturday.