Sunderland chairman Stewart Donald has delivered a passionate message to supporters after their tough start to the season.

The Black Cats drew their opening two league fixtures, 1-1 with both Oxford and Ipswich, sparking some unrest amongst supporters. A 3-1 victory against Accrington Stanley in the EFL Cup has given hope for optimism, but that only came after Jack Ross tweaked the tactical approach.

Off the field, the summer has been a turbulent one too. The expect takeover by Mark Campbell didn't come to fruition and the club have operated a one in, one out policy with transfers.

Despite the discontent, Sunderland are still expected to be amongst the promotion favourites and Donald has admitted on Twitter that the fans have every right to moan.

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When a fan commented that most messages Donald received seemed to be negative, the chairman replied;

"Nothing 3 wins on the bounce followed by promotion & some good investment news wouldn't cure.

"To be fair - you can't ask the fans to back the club & then moan when they become frustrated. They want us to do better and so they should. I need to deliver that is only fair."

The challenging start to the season is given another test this weekend as they face Portsmouth, their rivals for promotion last season and the side who beat them at Wembley in the EFL Trophy final.

The Verdict

I feel for Stewart Donald. He's taken a lot of stick from Sunderland fans and even came off Twitter at one point.

That's unfair; he was the only one willing to come in and save them after Ellis Short left and he's done a decent job of getting them back in shape.

It's not his fault the manager's tactics are perceived as negative, or the big money striker they pinned their hopes on has flopped.

He does understand supporters and their feelings though and he deserves some respect for the job he's done.