Sunderland manager Phil Parkinson says the introduction of a salary cap means that games are going to be closer than usual in League One this season.

The salary cap was introduced in the third-tier of English football in order to cope with the financial impact of the current global situation.

Parkinson however, feels that the new rules, which cover the amount that can be spent on player wages, have perhaps not helped his side so far this season.

Speaking after his side's 1-1 draw away at Fleetwood on Friday night - their fifth consecutive game without a win in all competitions - Parkinson was quoted by The Chronicle as saying: "Games are going to be tight. I think that because of the stature of our club, there can be a feeling we should be winning games three or four-nil all the time, but the salary cap has levelled the playing field.

"I don't think there's enough understanding of that - not our fans necessarily, but in football in general. We have now got the same potential budget as Accrington Stanley."

Indeed, it seems the introduction of the salary cap did restrict Sunderland in the transfer market over the summer, with Parkinson going on to add: "We wanted to bring in more players and strengthen in different areas, but we couldn't do it, and with all the attention on coronavirus, the salary cap kind of went under the radar a little bit.

"I'd love to say we will turn up every week and win four or five-nil, but other teams have got just as much money as us to spend on player wages. We're going to have to fight tooth and nail for every point."

Even so, Parkinson still appears optimistic things will turn back in his side's favour sooner rather than later, as he concluded: "We know that some of our draws should have been wins, but I'm confident we will start to get wins because there are so many good parts in our play."

The Verdict

I can sort of see the point Parkinson is trying to make with this.

Given it seems Sunderland wanted to strengthen further in the market, but were unable to do so because of the salary cap, it could be argued that Sunderland might not be as strong as they otherwise would have been.

That of course is going to make things harder for them in the league, which does appear to have been exposed in times over recent matches.

However, Sunderland arguably do still have one of the stronger squads in the league, and given the frustrations they are already expressing with him, some fans of the club might not be best pleased if they feel Parkinson is making an excuse for recent results here.