'Are you watching Ellis Short?' they snarled from the South Stand. No, he is not. The Sunderland owner cares even less than some of the players who have darkened the Stadium of Light this season.

And that is why this once-proud football club has slumped from the Premier League to League One in 12 months - neglect. Yes, the American has injected a lot of his own money to cover shortfalls, but he is akin to the absent parent topping up the trust fund - and those kids always run into bother.

All the while, Short has left his club in the care of witless guardians at almost every level of an institution which, personnel apart, has everything to succeed. Incompetence breeds incompetence at a football club, and Sunderland have long since mastered the art of ineptitude.

Absent Sunderland owner Ellis Short has led the club all the way down to League One

Sunderland have suffered back-to-back relegations and will play in League One next season

It is a little sad that two of the current incumbents - manager Chris Coleman and chief executive Martin Bain - actually talk a lot of sense, even if what plays out is incomprehensible.

Short appointed Bain and he in turn recruited David Moyes and Simon Grayson, two of the worst managers in Sunderland's history. Bain cannot escape that, even if he did inherit a club overstaffed, under-skilled, deep in debt and with a remit to slash costs and spend nothing.

Saturday's relegation was the culmination of years, not months. In the end, though, it was a fate sealed inside nine, crazy minutes.

The players didn't realise they had been relegated until they were back in the dressing room

Liam Boyce headed the winner against Black Cats in the 93rd minute on Saturday afternoon

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Sunderland led through Paddy McNair as the clocked ticked into the 86th minute. Then, entirely in keeping with a sadistic script, former Black Cats striker Darren Bent headed an equaliser for Burton before, in the third minute of five added minutes, Liam Boyce nodded the winner. McNair then had a goal disallowed and full-time sounded.

Six points from safety with six to play for, or so they thought. In fact, the quirk of Burton playing Bolton next weekend means one of those teams must reach 41 points, an unattainable total for Sunderland.

And so, as Coleman addressed his players afterwards, word began to spread that they were down. How terribly tragic and in keeping with this calamitous club that they did not even know they were gone.

Remarkably - but to his credit - Coleman wants to stay. He does, though, have some barbed words for the wantaway owner.

'It has not been easy. I have not witnessed anything like this before where I have never spoken to a chairman,' said the former Wales boss. 'To have no conversation with him at all is bizarre, it is strange.'

Lee Cattermole and Aiden McGeady appeal after Paddy McNair's late strike was ruled out

But Coleman added: 'I want in anyway, even if it is with Ellis. There is only one objective now for Sunderland and that's promotion. There's no stabilising, it's about bouncing straight back, bang. I don't want to be the one who misses out on this thing turning around.'

Coleman is right, there is too much history, too much potential, too much right about a club which has gone horribly wrong for it not to return to the Premier League one day.

Burton boss Nigel Clough offered some poignant words. He was born in Sunderland, where his dad, Brian, had played.

A Sunderland fan comforts his son as the team's relegation to League One is confirmed

'Dad spoke unbelievably affectionately about this club,' he said.

'I think there were a couple of opportunities over the years of him coming back, and he talked about what a great thing it would be to manage them. He didn't talk about many other clubs like that. He never said, "I want to manage Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal" - but he talked about this one..'

A sliding doors moment, perhaps. But for now, it is Coleman who must stop the slide and start the climb.

P.S. There are no quotes from Sunderland's players because none of them had the guts to speak to the press.