Familiar faces greet McCarthy at Wearside

SUNDERLAND boss Mick McCarthy has admitted the fate of his biggest stars is out of his hands.

The former Republic of Ireland manager returned for pre-season training last week to be greeted by all of the men who were widely tipped to leave Wearside following their relegation. Kevin Phillips, Michael Gray, Gavin McCann, Tore Andre Flo and even Lilian Laslandes were among the familiar faces on the first day of pre-season, and with Thomas Sorensen and Claudio Reyna to return from internationals, that number will swell.

McCarthy has to trim his squad to cope with the financial problems which come with relegation.