Dick Advocaat has expressed his frustration that the "fortune" Sunderland are still paying for players who have left the club is restricting his activity in the transfer market.
The Dutchman made four permanent signings and one loan addition before the start of the Premier League campaign, but their first outing ended in a 4-2 defeat at Leicester City.
Advocaat called for further reinforcements to ensure they are not drawn into another relegation battle, but stated that he is struggling to do business due to previous deals that were done before he arrived at the club.
"The problem is we are still having to pay a lot of money for players who are not here anymore," he told the Sunderland Echo.
"It's not a problem to be paying money for players who are still in the first team, but we are still paying a fortune for players who are not here anymore.
"That is a shame, in my opinion. That makes it very difficult."
Never the less Advocaat remains intent of bringing in new faces to freshen up his squad, and he hopes that will convince some of the unwanted squad members to move on.
He added: "I always say, and maybe not everyone agrees with me, that if you bring players in, then some will go.
"As a player, if I'm happy here and no one comes in, then I think I'll have a chance. Then they're not going to go.
"But if we do bring players in, then some will go, with all respect to them, because they’re not going to get a chance."
