BOB MURRAY was almost apologetic to the Sunderland supporters as he announced the departure of manager Mick McCarthy.

"I feel deeply sorry that the excitement, optimism and aspirations of all Sunderland fans looking forward to the Premier League have been rewarded in this way," were his remarks as he revealed the news.

While a growing number of fans were keen to see the departure of McCarthy, an even larger number believe that change should not stop there.

The chairman has overseen years of failure in which the club have established nothing but extensive debts.

Apparently those have been stabilised but still hover near to £40m, making life in the transfer market almost impossible.

But the dire situation dates back beyond the installation of McCarthy. Hence the reason why the club's fanatical supporters have been so understanding towards him.

Those same fans remember how Peter Reid was allowed to splash £10m on Tore Andre Flo and Marcus Stewart just weeks before he was sacked, as Sunderland dropped towards relegation in 2003. It was a situation that Sunderland have never recovered from.

In came Howard Wilkinson, who Murray would have to concede was the wrong appointment, while McCarthy was exactly the sort of manager the Wearside faithful clamoured to see.

McCarthy was described as a 'breath of fresh air' by many of those around to witness him arrive at the Stadium of Light, almost three years ago to the day he was sacked.

Throughout last season's Championship title success the chairman had successfully avoided flak. The manager was backed in the transfer market, even if it was not with the sort of cash a club the size of Sunderland deserves to have.

The likes of Dean Whitehead, Liam Lawrence and Stephen Elliott all arrived on low wages and for relatively small fees.

Promotion was achieved and, although Murray had still not endeared himself to the followers, time was on his side. Now, though, the focus can only be back on the boardroom.

For weeks the writing has been on the wall for McCarthy. Privately he had come to accept his departure was imminent after the much-publicised war of words in the media.

It was at that point he feared the chairman was no longer pulling in the same direction, with the axe more of a surprise to the rest of the football world than to McCarthy himself.

There is no doubting the former Republic of Ireland boss spent his £10m promotion transfer kitty in the summer poorly. But it would have been interesting to see how Sunderland would have performed had a couple of his first choice targets come off.

McCarthy was told he couldn't buy £2.5m Darren Bent from Ipswich, who hasn't done too badly with Charlton.

Bent could have worked wonders, particularly when you consider the ineptitude of both Jon Stead and Andy Grayin front of goal since their arrival for a combined £2.9m.

It was also not McCarthy's wish to see the back of Thomas Myhre, who has been equally impressive with the Addicks this season and whose replacement, Kelvin Davis, has failed to win over Sunderland fans after a number of error-strewn displays.

Murray would suggest the £10m has been spent poorly, which is backed up by the fact the other two promoted clubs, West Ham and Wigan, are both in the top half after spending similar amounts of money.

The new man at the helm will have to do his own wheeling and dealing in the transfer market if he wants to reshape his squad. Failing that, Murray will be hoping an investor can be found and that Sunderland's financial clout can take a turn for the better with another campaign of Championship football on the horizon.

That appears to be the only way McCarthy's successor stands any chance of re-establishing Sunderland were they belong - in the top half of the Premiership. Will Murray be still there to see that? It would seem so.

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