Waching daily May 27 2018

Sunderland's new owner Stewart Donald has appointed Jack Ross as manager - and brought back Samson the Cat as managing director

Tony Davison used to dress up as the mascot and entertain fans on the pitch before embarking on a marketing and commercial career in football, most recently working for Spurs

But the lifelong Sunderland fan will now return to the Stadium of Light as part of new executive team alongside Donald and director Charlie Methven

There have already been a raft of redundancies at the club in recent days, including chief executive Martin Bain and highly-rated head of recruitment Neale McDermott

It is thought any staff member at the club for less than two years is likely to be shown the door

Ross, meanwhile, has been installed as boss after leaving St Mirren to sign a two-year contract with the League One club

He will he joined by assistant James Fowler. The 41-year-old, who won the Scottish Championship last season, said: 'This is a fantastic opportunity to take charge of an incredible football club

If you look the history, the facilities and most important of all, the fanbase, you can see what this club can be

'To be part of the team to help realise that potential is something that fills me with excitement

'From the moment I spoke to Stewart and Charlie, their energy and enthusiasm was evident and I share in that

'There's a lot of work to be done in re-shaping the squad to ensure that we hit the ground running in League One, and I can't wait to get started

' Donald added: 'Jack is excited to be a part of the future we are building here, and the fact he turned down lucrative offers from elsewhere, including clubs currently in a higher division than ourselves, is testament to his commitment and desire to succeed at this club and his belief in our vision for the future

' Donald has so far paid just £5million of the £40m he owes Ellis Short to buy the club and must find the balance within the next two years while finding a way to plug losses which were last calculated at around £500,000 per week

Of the job losses, Methven said: 'When we arrived it was abundantly clear that the infrastructure and team that we inherited was not aligned with our clear goal of ensuring each and every opportunity at this football club is realised and maximised

'This is not a reflection on the specific individuals who have departed, who leave with our sincere good wishes, but on the inflated and therefore inefficient infrastructure that developed over a number of years and the resultant culture which grew around it

'Fundamentally, every pound that supporters put into their football club has to influence positively its future success

 Fans need to see their hard-earned money being used wisely and in the right areas and to do that we have a responsibility to be lean, productive and focused

'Ensuring that we are ready for the challenge of League One is our priority and the club's operation will reflect that aim

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