Sunderland are enduring a horrendous start to the Sky Bet Championship season.

The Mackems currently languish in the relegation zone in 22nd place, after a start which has seen them pick up just one solitary win.

Simon Grayson's side are lacking any sort of real firepower and were linked heavily with a move for Ross McCormack in the summer.

Have Sunderland made a mistake not pushing harder to secure a deal for the striker?

The writers here at FLW have their say.....

Chris Gallagher

Yes, without a doubt!

Simply put, the Wearside club are struggling in the final third and for all McCormack has declined at Aston Villa, he's still a good player at this level.

Of course, Sunderland have problems all over the pitch, mainly at the back, but McCormack would've added a little bit of class in the final third.

George Dagless

A tough one to call.

McCormack is a very good talent and at Championship level there have been few better over the years.

His spell at Villa was pretty woeful, though, and you have to wonder whether Sunderland really needed to risk bringing in a player who sometimes causes issues.

He might have been fine, but Sunderland could have dodged a bullet.

Alfie Burns

This was one of the summer’s longest transfer sagas, with Simon Grayson clearly desperate to link back up with McCormack at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland are struggling, and personally, I feel McCormack could have made a huge difference at the Stadium of Light.

The striker had endured a difficult year with Aston Villa, but prior to that he scored goals to keep both Leeds and Fulham in the Championship.

Sunderland and Grayson will be kicking themselves that they missed the opportunity to take McCormack to the north east.