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.

However, although plenty of clubs have shown interest, there have been few bids, and with the Black Cats’ first pre-season game scheduled for this Saturday at Durham City, McCarthy could be selecting from the same squad which failed last season.

The problem is, McCarthy cannot replace his better players until they have moved on. He has already admitted his interested in former Manchester City duo Shaun Goater and Jeff Whitley, while Celtic’s out-of-contract midfielder Colin Healy is a target.