David Moyes parts company with Sunderland

David Moyes has resigned from his post as manager at Sunderland following the team's relegation from the Premier League to the Championship, the club announced early on Monday evening.

Moyes' Sunderland stint is at an end

The 54-year-old Scot took the reins from Sam Allardyce in July last year and oversaw a woeful season which saw Sunderland finish 16 points adrift of safety at the foot of the table.

“I would like to thank (Sunderland chairman) Ellis Short and the board for giving me the opportunity to manage Sunderland and the fans for always being so passionately supportive of their club. I wish the players and my successor well in their efforts towards promotion back to the Premier League”, Moyes said in a statement.

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Black Cats drop down a division for the first time in a decade

Sunderland's relegation to the Championship after a 10-year run in the top flight was confirmed following a 1-0 home defeat by Bournemouth last month. Moyes informed Sunderland officials of his decision to leave at a meeting in London on Monday.

His departure completes a sorry few weeks for the former Everton manager, who has been charged by the Football Association after jokily threatening to “slap” a female journalist. It is his third successive short-lived stint at a club, following previous disappointments at Manchester United, where he lasted just 10 months, and Real Sociedad where he was sacked just one year after taking over from Jagoba Arrasate.

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Sunderland chairman Ellis Short said, “I pursued the services of David Moyes for a considerable period prior to his appointment last summer, which makes the announcement of his departure difficult for everyone concerned. Having worked tirelessly throughout the campaign to avoid relegation from the Premier League, David has chosen to leave the club without compensation, which is testament to his character. In the days ahead we will take some time for reflection and then focus on recruitment and pre-season as we prepare for our Championship campaign. We wish David well in the future”.

Moyes was not happy with Sunderland's pre-season transfer dealings and that pretty much set the tone for their campaign early in the season when he said he was preparing for a relegation battle. Sunderland slumped into the bottom three in September and remained at the foot of the table from January onwards, finishing the campaign with just six wins.