No financial collapse, say Sunderland
The Black Cats have called in the PFA as they attempt to rationalise the business, a process which could include players accepting a deferred payment of part of their salaries.
However, the Wearsiders insist they involved the PFA more than three months ago after it became clear that their stay in the Barclaycard Premiership was over and that they would have to take radical action to address debts spiralling towards £30million.
"We have not just started talking to the PFA, we've been in discussions with the union for the last three months as part of our planning process to deal with the financial implications of relegation," Murray said.
"The football market is quite depressed, and since the demise of ITV Digital, the PFA has also been involved in helping half of the Division One clubs in the last 12 months alone.
"We are just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but we are resolute and strong enough to deal with the financial reality.
"There are a number of pieces to the jigsaw in restructuring our finances and this is just one of them.
"They include making cost cuts across the business, which sadly has included 70 staff redundancies in the last two months. The players are also a big part of the club and therefore part of the jigsaw."
Sunderland have spent the last three months or so desperately trying to cope with the after-effects of relegation both on and off the pitch.
As they slid out of the top flight following of a run of 15 successive league defeats, a record which left them with the lowest ever points total and fewest goals scored, it emerged their debts had risen to £26.6million and with worse to come.
Murray, who had dispensed with the services of managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson during a disastrous campaign, faced a series of difficult decisions both on and off the field in a bid to stave off the prospect of administration.
Around a third of the club's employees were made redundant and two club shops were closed, but with a drop in television revenue to come and poor season ticket sales presenting further problems, there is still work to be done.
Much of the problem involves the over-sized and under-performing squad Mick McCarthy inherited from Wilkinson, with their wates representing a larger than ever proportion of the club's total outgoings.
