Former Sunderland defender Micky Gray has questioned why the club only kept outgoing boss Alex Neil on a rolling 12-month contract following the news the Scotsman is set to join Stoke City.
News broke on Friday of Neil's impending exit from the Stadium of Light to join the Potters which was met with an outcry of frustration and disappointment from supporters.
Neil was the man who guided Sunderland back to the Championship last term but has opted to leave Wearside in favour of the Stoke job.
READ MORE: Kristjaan Speakman provides update amid Alex Neil's impending Stoke City switch from Sunderland
The news could not have come at a worse time for the Black Cats either. Neil's exit was revealed just a day before Sunderland's Saturday clash against Norwich City at the Stadium of Light, which saw them lose 1-0.
Prior to kick-off, sporting director Kristjaan Speakman revealed Sunderland had tried to keep Neil on Wearside, only for the Scotsman to choose Stoke instead.
And speaking as part of Sky Sport's Championship coverage of the lunchtime kick-off, Gray revealed he had been left frustrated by Neil's departure.
"Shock, and a little bit of disappointment," said Gray when asked on Sky Sports for his reaction to Neil's imminent departure.
"He [Neil] was certainly taken the club in the right direction and the thing that annoys myself and I think a lot of Sunderland supporters is we've had a lot of managers and we've tried to get out of League One and it's taken us four seasons to do that - he was the man to do that.
"And to still have him on a rolling contract, I think that frustrates everybody and Alex Neil himself. You can't have any complaints with him going to try and better himself and wanting a bigger contract and going to a club that is willing to offer him that bigger contract.
"That's the frustrating thing from a Sunderland perspective, from the Sunderland side of things. Now, we just heard that he had been offered a new contract, which was another rolling contract.
"Now, if you've got somebody who kind of gets the place, gets the area, he's got everybody onside, the supporters absolutely love him and the football that they've been playing last season and in the Championship, you would think you deserve a two or three year contract and I think that's the frustrating side of things.
"This rollercoaster ride over the last 24 hours has just been crazy and I think everybody's still in a bit of shock. I was speaking to the coaches 15-20 minutes ago - they couldn't believe it."
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