Former manager David Moyes has said that last season's Sunderland squad was not at "Premier League level".
The Black Cats claimed just six wins and 24 points as they were relegated to the Championship and during the season, Moyes was unable to conduct any major business in the transfer market.
Moyes has since resigned from his role with Sunderland, but the Scot has revealed that he would not have accepted the job had he been aware of the financial restraints placed on his work.
The 54-year-old told the Daily Mail: "It was a tough season. Not what I expected. And it was disappointing because I wasn't able to get the results that maybe in years gone by I would have done. But I think there were mitigating circumstances.
"It was a squad that was not at Premier League level. And a squad that had been beaten up a few times and come very close to relegation before. It needed refreshing, but it wasn't possible because of the finances we had available. I don't feel let down by Ellis Short because he had always wanted me. He had been after me four or five times.
"I think the disappointment was that I didn't know the club was going to be put up for sale. I only found that out two or three months into the job, after we found out there was not going to be any money available in January.
"Ellis spoke to me a couple of times and said, "Look, I've already put £300m of my own money into this and there's not going to be any more". But I didn't know that beforehand and I wouldn't have taken the job had I known."
In all competitions, Moyes lost 28 of his 43 games in charge of Sunderland.
