A large chunk of staff at Sunderland could reportedly lose their jobs due to planned redundancies.

The North-East outfit, who are in a relegation fight as they sit at the bottom of the Premier League, are believed to be trying to cut costs.

According to the Daily Mail, chief executive Martin Bain called in a number of staff based at the Stadium of Light and the Academy of Light training ground to inform them they should prepare for redundancies.

The news comes a week after the first-team squad were taken to New York by manager David Moyes on a team-bonding break.

An unnamed staff member told the Daily Mail: "By all accounts they hardly kicked a ball. It was gym work at the hotel and then out sightseeing and watching basketball matches. I can't imagine the hotel would have been cheap and then we get this news today. It's hard to take, to say the least."

The Black Cats currently sit two points from safety in the top flight after winning just five of their 25 matches this season.