DJIBRIL CISSE has fired a vitriolic parting shot at Sunderland, believing they reneged on an agreement to offer him a permanent contract to remain at the club.

And he dismissed any suggestion he was embroiled in an off-field feud with strike partner Kenwyne Jones that prevented the pair gelling on the pitch.

Despite Cisse ending last season as the Black Cats’ joint-top scorer in the Premier League, his ten goals were not considered sufficient to prevent him returning to Marseille when his loan deal expired last month.

Since leaving Wearside, he has been linked with moves to Tottenham Hotspur and Stoke City, but the apparent abundance of job offers have failed to curb the Frenchman’s bitterness toward his former employers.

“I went into the final game thinking I was going to be taken on,” Cisse claimed.

“Because I had been told, ‘when we are safe, we talk contracts’. It’s either a lie or a misunderstanding on my side but I think I understand English well enough to understand what that sentence means.

“I am angry because I had tried to talk to them in January about my future and the manager (Ricky Sbragia) said: ‘Djib, you have to stop talking’, so I stopped talking.

“The chairman said I had to wait until we are safe, so I wait until the last day to hear ‘thank you, we are not going to take up the option’. Luckily, I have opportunities at other clubs, otherwise I would be stuck.”

Cisse’s impact at Sunderland was explosive, a late headed goal on his debut helping secure an impressive victory at White Hart Lane.

But his influence on the pitch waned significantly after January, when he managed just one league goal.

Concerns over his attitude and failure to form an effective partnership with Jones ultimately resulted in Niall Quinn stalling when offered Cisse for around £8m.

Quizzed about rumours that he wasn’t on good terms with Jones, Cisse countered: “Kenwyne is the player I get on with the most. We listen to the same music, we are friends.

“It was wrong to say Kenwyne and I didn’t gel.

“It’s not straightaway that partnerships happen. I talked to Dwight Yorke, who I am really proud to know because he was one of my idols, and he said that his partnership with Andy Cole didn’t just happen.

It was work and time spent together.”

The proposed £8m transfer fee had been agreed between Marseille and Sunderland last August but subsequent weakening of the pound had, in real terms, increased that amount.

Cisse believes Sunderland will struggle to find a striker of his quality at a similar cost.

“If you want to stay in the Premier League and try to be regulars in the Premier League, you’re going to have to pay more than £10m for strikers.

“I am just waiting to see who they buy. Are they going to find a £6m striker or are they going to buy a £12-15m striker? I am going to know whether they mess me around or not.

“If I had the chance to come back to another English club, I’d have to face Sunderland and it would be up to me to make them regret their decision.

“Obviously, what I did wasn’t enough for Ricky and Niall Quinn so we will see next season.”