England outcast Kevin Phillips has been fined after he was caught speeding in his £60,000 high-powered sports car.

The struggling Sunderland striker has netted the ball just twice this season for his side who are battling relegation.

And he faced more misery after he was pulled up by cops on his way to training.

Phillips was on his way to the club's Whitburn training ground from his home in Bishop Auckland Co. Durham on Saturday ahead of their relegation clash aginst Manchester City.

As he made his way along the A690 near Co. Durham, in his customised BMW X5 car he was stopped by a patrol car.

Officers clocked Superkev travelling at 62mph in his black sports utility vehicle - the speed limit for the Sunderland-bound dual carriageway is 50mph.

But Phillips, who has netted 124 goals in 211 appearances for the Black Cats since signing for Peter Reid in the summer of 1997, won't be hauled before the courts for his minor indiscretion.

Instead the 29-year-old forward, who reportedly earns ?25,000-a-week at the Stadium of Light, has been handed a ?60 fine and had three penalty points slapped onto his licence.

A Durham Police spokesman said Phillips, who has won six England caps, was stopped by patrol officers at about 10am on Saturday while on the way to training.

"He was very civilised and apologetic and accepted a fixed penalty fine which must be paid within 28 days. He will not be required to attend court in connection with this matter," added the spokesman.

Phillips, a former European Golden boot winner, is the latest Black Cats star to land himself in bother with the law for committing driving offences.

In July misfit striker Lilian Laslandes was banned from getting behind the wheel for two years after admitting drink driving.

The 30-year-old, a £3million signing from Bordeaux in the summer of 2000 was one-and-a-half times over the legal limit when he was stopped by police in Newcastle last November.

Black Cats skipper Michael Gray was banned from driving from driving for 18 months and fined £1,500 after pleading guilty to drink-driving and failing to report an accident in 1998.

This speeding fine adds more misery to Sunderland's season as speculation of Phillips's future with the club increases.

It comes after predictions that relegation to division one could cost Sunderland AFC more than £20million.

The revelation follows the club's disastrous defeat to Manchester City at the Stadium of Light.

Losing 3-0 left the Black Cats clinging close to the bottom of the Premiership.

Relegation would cost the club lucrative television and marketing deals, it was predicted.

Vinay Bedi, a director of Newcastle stock brokers Wise Speke, said: "The club could expect to lose £15million from television coverage alone if it was relegated."

And a business insider added: "Lost sales on the gate and through merchandising could easily push that figure up to ?20million. It just depends whether the fans stick with them."

A spokesman for Sunderland AFC conceded that millions would be lost through relegation, saying: "Clearly, our focus is avoiding relegation. However, in such a scenario, income for any relegated club would fall by ?10-15million."

City investors held their nerve today as Sunderland's share price remained static at 137p - just two points higher than the year low.

Mr Bedi said: "The city seem to be expecting relegation, and the share price at the moment reflects that.

"Investors have been looking at a worst case scenario, so the market reaction has been nil so far."

He added: "Relegation would not be a disaster for the club because it is a well structured business.

A club spokesman added: "It is probably true that the share price would remain static. The stock market always anticipates situations and our present league position will have been factored into the share price.

"The price may rise in the seond scenario, although there are many factors effecting price such as general market sentiment."

A share price of 137p today remains well below the peak over the past 12 months of 425p.

It still currently stands at less than a quarter of the value when the club was first floated in December 1996. Then, fans paid 585p a share for a stake in Sunderland.

Mr Bedi added: "The club is well managed and is a very sound, prudently controlled business. Shareholders have confidence from that point of view."