Aiden McGeady has played his last game for Sunderland following reports of a training ground bust-up at the Academy of Light earlier this week.
McGeady, 33, signed a new contract last season to take up to the end of this campaign. He has been the Black Cats' top scorer this term, with six goals in 21 games for the Wearsiders, who are in 11th place in League One.
However the Ireland international has been told by Phil Parkinson that he could go, with the Sunderland boss revealing today that the decision was down to on and off-field reasons - "a bit of both," said Parkinson.
"It's giving Geads the opportunity to get something sorted. If you make these decisions in January it can sometimes be too late.
“We decided to have the chat this week and that is what we have done.
"It's not one particular incident. I wanted to tell Aiden and his agent so we can plan for January as well.
"It is a big decision but I'm confident it's the right decision for the club. January was around the corner and we are making plans on that.
"We wanted to be fair to Aidy and give him plenty of time. Conversations between managers and players have to stay private. We want to stay fair to Aiden and give him that time.
"I feel the best way forward is to find a solution and move forward in January, so I can concentrate on the players which are here."
Sunderland haven't won a game in five weeks and were beaten by Gillingham in the FA Cup first round in that period.
“I think when you are not winning games there will always be some disagreements, which you accept," said Parkinson.
“But the unity of the dressing room is paramount to the club going forward, we have a good set of lads, we are pulling together, we are all frustrated, but we are doing everything to try and turn it around."
McGeady, who has 92 Ireland caps, last played at international level in the 5-1 defeat to Denmark in the World Cup qualifying play-off in November 2017.
If you haven't already, be sure to like our Irish Mirror Sport and Irish Mirror GAA pages on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
