SUNDERLAND boss Mick McCarthy yesterday began work on his retained list in the wake of Monday's play-off semi-final heartbreak.

The Black Cats' shoot-out defeat by Crystal Palace at the Stadium of Light is still sinking in on a stunned Wearside, but McCarthy has no time to waste as he plans a renewed promotion assault next season.

Six of the players who featured in the season's agonising finale - Phil Babb, Joachim Bjorklund, John Oster, Jason McAteer, Jeff Whitley and Tommy Smith - are out of contract this summer.

Paul Thirlwell, Darren Byfield, Michael Reddy, Simon Ramsden, Mark Rossiter and Chris Scott are also free agents.

In addition, McCarthy must decide whether to pursue a permanent deal for Carl Robinson, who signed on loan from Portsmouth in March.

Doubts have even been raised about McCarthy's future, with club captain McAteer warning Sunderland that they could lose him unless they provide the resources he needs.

And with the club still around £36m in debt, vice-chairman John Fickling admits funds will be limited.

He said: "We will help Mick, he knows the situation, and I think there will be movement of players in the summer.

"But we're not going to hand out massive fees and massive contracts now. Clubs aren't doing that - you don't have to. We have to look forward and we have to get over this disappointment.

"A number of players are out of contract. Mick has made changes and I am sure more changes will come so that hopefully we will give it a real go next season.

"The number of players who are out of contract needs to be seen as an opportunity, not a problem.

"Mick knows the market and knows the players who will be available, and Sunderland is still an attractive club for players."

Failure to win promotion and defeat by Millwall in an FA Cup semi-final have come as a crushing double blow.

Fickling conceded: "It's a bitter disappointment and naturally people are very flat.

"But if you had said in August we'd reach the semi-final of the FA Cup, be third in the league and subsequently be knocked out of the play-offs on penalties, people would not have believed it. On reflection, it has been a fairly successful season.

"Last summer was traumatic in terms of players leaving. New faces have arrived, though, and we've coped well. That sort of process will continue this summer.

"Players coming and going is not necessarily a bad thing. In many ways it's good because it means Mick can continue to bring in new faces and continue the good work that's been done this season and hopefully build on that.

"A number of players' contracts run out in June and Mick has firm ideas about what he wants to do and who he wants to keep.

"The length of contracts and the value of them are changing and there're a lot of good players out there. I'm sure Mick is making the assessment between the players that we've got and what sort of contracts we're prepared to offer them.

Scotland centre-back Steve Caldwell, on a free from Newcastle, could be among the arrivals.

* Sunderland goalkeeper Michael Ingham has been included in Northern Ireland's 20-man squad for their tour to the Caribbean at the end of the month.

Northern Ireland squad: Taylor, Ingham; Baird, Murdock, Craigan, Williams, Capaldi; Gillespie, Jones, Whitley, Mulryne, Johnson, Doherty, Elliott, Sonner; Healy, Smith, Hamilton, McVeigh, Quinn.

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