Sunderland's American owner is worried that his financial backing has made fans of the club feel they don't need to attend matches.
Texas investor Ellis Short is ''surprised that the attendances have been down while we've been doing better.''
Despite losing Sunday to Liverpool, Sunderland is ninth in the Premier League - six points above the relegation zone.
Short told the club website he is ''worried that perhaps with my financial support the supporters didn't feel like it was important to support the club any more, but nothing could be further from the truth.''
Short says his spending since 2008 has helped ''to pull the club up from a yo-yo club to an established club ... but going forward we will be relying heavily on the support of the fans.''
