Gus Poyet: Sunderland could face 'difficult' summer keeping key players | OneFootball

"It's difficult to try not to let them go."

He was speaking to Sunderland Echo.

"Now, I don't think there are going to be too many exits. It could be one or two offers. I don't think it’s going to be five."

"The most important thing is that the coach knows perfectly the team and knows where maybe they can improve, and that's up to him."

"For sure, there is a few that the coach will prefer to move on. And those are the difficult ones for the sporting director, I promise you."

"It's the worst part for the sporting director when you have a player with a three-year contract that didn't play too much, and you need to find a solution."

"So I think that balance of not losing too many of the good ones, being able to get rid of a few of the ones that are not performing or not playing, and bring exactly what you need. The closer you get to that perfection, the better for the coach."

Regis Le Bris' side have been busy in the market after their return to the Premier League, and several recruits have helped steer them towards midtable security with seven matches remaining.

Robin Roefs and Noah Sadiki have stood out amid interest from high-profile clubs. Sunderland are 11th, 14 points clear of the drop and three behind seventh-placed Brentford, and depending on their finish and European allocations they could still reach Europe.

Source: Sunderland Echo