Derby County boss John Gregory last night admitted he never wanted to lose Mart Poom to Sunderland.

The cash-strapped First Division strugglers had to allow the Estonian goalkeeper to join the Black Cats on loan to ease their crippling wage bill.

And Gregory admitted he was never looking to lose one of his best players.

"In an ideal world, we would not be looking to lose players of Mart Poom's calibre," said Gregory. "Mart has gone on an initial two-month loan but the club is in a situation where it has to listen to serious bids for players because of the financial issues.

"It is no secret that we have to sell, we have to move players on."

Poom, who will be named in the Sunderland squad for this Saturday's clash with Birmingham, is understood to be wanted by the Wearsiders permanently.

Manager Howard Wilkinson, who has shot-stoppers Thomas Sorensen and Thomas Myhre unavailable through injury, had to receive special dispensation from the Football Association to bring Poom in on a two-month loan deal.

And it is understood that when the transfer window reopens in January, if Poom has enjoyed a successful spell, Wilkinson is likely to try to push through a permanent deal.

And Gregory admits he is resigned to losing his highly-rated goalkeeper. He said: "The matter is in the hands of the board but I am aware of what has been going on and the need to sell players.

"That is the situation we are in and there is no escape from that.

"If my players still consider themselves to be Premier League players, then they just have to perform and somebody will come along and snap them up in the manner that Sunderland have done with Mart Poom."

Poom is a true professional and his hard-work on the training ground will only help his cause for a £2.5m-plus move to the Stadium of Light in the New Year.

And the 30-year-old, who plays for his country against Iceland in Tallin tomorrow, is determined to impress during his time in the North-East.

"Sunderland are a massive club and I'm looking forward to the challenge of playing for them," said the former Portsmouth man, who was a target for Everton during the close-season.

"I've played at the Stadium of Light and I think it's fantastic, however the last memory I have is not such a good one, as it was the game that Derby were relegated.

"As a professional I want to play at the highest level possible so I'm looking forward to this."

There is no guarantees that Poom will be handed the first team shirt at Sunderland after clinching a move.

On Sunday, Austrian goalkeeper Jurgen Macho produced an excellent display of shot-stopping at Anfield to deny Liverpool a goal during the Reds' 90 minute onslaught.

And Wilkinson has told both players that it is Macho's place to lose.

Meanwhile, Sunderland midfielder Claudio Reyna was due to have surgery on his injured knee in California yesterday. The 29-year-old is not expected to return to action until next season.

Read more about Sunderland here.