Murray heralds new era for Black Cats

Monday's closure of the transfer window was the end of a massive summer clear-out at the Stadium of Light, with 16 senior players all being allowed to leave.

Sunderland have recouped £14m from their sales and have slashed their wage bill by around £10m-a-year in the process, which has eased their massive cash problems considerably.

In January the Nationwide League new-boys' debts were first revealed at £26.6m, which have since spiralled toward £38m, and many of their millionaire players agreed to a wage deferral last month to help the cash-strapped club.

But after moving on so many of their high-earners - including Claudio Reyna, Thomas Sorensen, Kevin Phillips and Tore Andre Flo - chairman Murray is convinced Sunderland are finally in a position to take steps forward rather than steps back.

"Now that the transfer window has finally closed we know where we stand and can look forward positively," said Murray in a statement.

"It's really important for Mick and the players because they now know who is here to stay and can concentrate solely on getting results.

"We said back in April that we would have to make some very tough decisions over the summer to protect the future of the club.

"It wasn't a secret that we would need to re-structure to deal with life in Division One.

"There were four main areas where we had to act quickly and decisively. Firstly, we had to cut costs across the whole business and secondly, we had to go through a painful staff redundancy programme.

"After this our focus shifted to the playing squad as we knew we would have to cut the number of players as well as reducing the wage bill. I accept that many supporters wanted the club to retain some players, or only to sell other individuals at a certain price.

"Sadly, we didn't have the luxury of holding on to some of our higher wage earners. It wasn't a matter of choice."

And Murray, who guided the troubled club through a difficult period after sanctioning ex-boss Peter Reid's £22m spending in a 12 month period up until August 2002, has been pleased with Sunderland's summer dealings.

The departures of Kevin Kilbane, who moved to Everton for £1m, and Michael Gray, who joined Celtic in a four-month loan deal, completed the Wearside exodus on Monday.

And Murray said: "It's been very tough at times but I've learnt a lot over the summer. It's been a very difficult transfer market but we've still managed to move on 23 players - that's more than two teams - and as a consequence we've halved the wage bill, which is exceptional in the circumstances.

"We also agreed a wage deferral scheme with the PFA, which every player signed up to, and this was very important as well."

Now with Sunderland heading financially in the right direction, Murray wants the club to continue their winning run on the pitch.

Manager Mick McCarthy has guided the Black Cats to three successive Nationwide League Division One victories, despite operating in a financial straight-jacket.

It is of a run of form that is a far cry from the disastrous campaign witnessed at the Stadium of Light last season when they lost their Premiership status.

And as well as suffering the humiliation of relegation, it was only at Preston last month that they ended a dreadful run of 17 consecutive league losses. Defeat at Deepdale would have equalled an unwanted record that has stood for more than a century.

But the arrivals of Irish midfielder Colin Healy, experienced defender Gary Breen and ex-Manchester City man Jeff Whitley have given McCarthy's depleted squad a much-needed injection of new blood.

And Murray is backing the former Republic of Ireland boss, who lost his first 11 games in charge, to continue to steer Sunderland back along the right track.

"Mick has been very understanding of the situation and what he inherited since he arrived and hopefully his influence is becoming more apparent with a settled team," said Murray

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