Sunderland chief executive Martin Bain has backed manager David Moyes to succeed at the club despite their poor start to the season.

Moyes succeeded Sam Allardyce as boss at the Stadium of Light just three weeks before the start of the new Premier League campaign and has seen his side pick up just two points from their opening eight top-flight matches.

The Black Cats are already four points adrift of safety following last weekend’s 2-0 defeat at Stoke and Bain admits the start to the season has been far from ideal, but he remains convinced that Moyes is the right man to turn things around.

“It’s been a turbulent start,” Bain told the club’s website. “From a football perspective we aren’t where we want to be, but from a personal perspective I’ve got a good feel for the people and I had to understand the identity of the club before I could make recommendations.”

Sunderland have been battling relegation in each of the last four seasons and Bain believes it is important the club adopt a long-term approach if they want to make significant improvements over the coming years.

He added: “Let’s build and let’s take a longer term approach. This is a rebuilding plan and I hope the fans can stick by their club and I’m sure they will, because there has been a lot of suffering here.”

Moyes’ men are next in action when they travel to the London Stadium to take on West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday.

The Black Cats are available at 4.75 to secure their first league win of the campaign in East London, while the Hammers are priced at 1.73 and the draw is on offer at 3.75.