DICK ADVOCAAT has refused to give any guarantees about his future as Sunderland head coach, and warned the club is destined for another relegation battle unless significant new additions arrive before the end of the transfer window.

The Black Cats head into this afternoon’s home game with Swansea rooted to the foot of the Premier League table after two desperately poor performances against Leicester and Norwich, and their net summer spend of around £8m represents one of the lowest levels of investment in the whole of the league.

When Advocaat agreed to perform a U-turn and return to Wearside at the start of the summer, he outlined the need for “four or five quality additions” to owner Ellis Short, and was assured the squad would be significantly strengthened.

However, Jeremain Lens’ £8m arrival from Dynamo Kiev is Sunderland’s only major piece of summer transfer business – Younes Kaboul, Adam Matthews, Yann M’Vila and Sebastian Coates were all signed for £3m or less – and Advocaat has cut an increasingly disconsolate figure as the deficiencies of the current squad have become increasingly obvious in recent weeks.

Given that he has already walked away from Wearside once, the last seven days have seen mounting suggestions that the 67-year-old could leave for good once the transfer window closes, and it is telling that when he was offered the opportunity to put the rumours to bed once and for all yesterday, Advocaat declined.

When asked to assure fans he would not be leaving, the Dutchman cryptically said: “I have given the same answer to this. I don’t want to discuss that now. It is not an issue. We are concentrating on the Swansea game.”

Be that as it may, Advocaat was much more forthcoming when it came to discussing what might happen to the current squad if additional players did not arrive before September 1.

The veteran coach accepts Sunderland cannot compete on a level financial playing field with the majority of clubs in the Premier League, and the monetary imbalance makes it harder for them to attract the required quality of player to the Stadium of Light.

Nevertheless, if Short and sporting director Lee Congerton are unable to make further improvements in the next ten days, Advocaat expects there to be serious consequences.

“If we don’t invest at a significant level in this window, I do not think we can compete,” he said. “Watching what other teams are doing at the moment, we stay a little bit on the same level as we were before.

“We still have a week, but financial wise, at the moment, we can’t compete. So if we stay in the same position as last year, we will be doing well. We hope to do better, and if we get the players in we are working on, it will be easier than last season. But the problem is that all the other teams are spending fortunes and we cannot.”

Sunderland’s main problem is that they are already operating with a wage bill close to the limits permitted under Financial Fair Play regulations thanks to a succession of poor signings in the past.

Those expensive mistakes also appear to have sapped Short’s willingness to continue throwing good money after bad, and Advocaat concedes the American businessman did not make any guarantees over the amount he would be spending this summer.

“I think it is a little bit unfair to our owner because everybody is jumping on him,” he said. “I just want to say that we had a meeting and he said, ‘We have to invest to make the team better’.

“That’s what we’ve tried to do, but he did not mention figures. He said we had to invest to make the team better, but he never said to me £10m, £20m, £30m, £40m, £50m, £60m like the other teams are doing.

“You always get what you pay for. Manchester City get a central defender (Nicolas Otamendi) this week for £32m. Chelsea have one bad game and they buy Pedro for £22m. And we have Duncan Watmore. But to be fair to the owner, he never mentioned a figure to me.”

As if Advocaat did not have enough headaches to contend with, Jermain Defoe’s future continues to be the subject of considerable conjecture. The England international spoke of his desire to return to a central attacking position earlier this week, but Advocaat has categorically ruled out such a switch.

“Jermain Defoe will play on the left or right side – or on the bench,” he said. “Nobody can tell me where he has to play. I decide which player plays where, not players.”

Advocaat also fired an angry broadside at former Sunderland skipper Michael Gray, who launched a scathing attack on Short and the Black Cats’ players this week.

“I have respect for the club’s legends,” he said. “But I heard a story that when Sunderland were relegated, 60 or 90 people found out they were fired, and Mr Gray arrived here with a new Ferrari.

“If I know that 90 people have to go because we are going down, I would go on my bike, not a Ferrari. That says enough about the mentality of that man.”