The Black Cats have failed in their quest to bounce straight back up to the Championship, as they were beaten by Charlton in Sunday’s League One play-off final at Wembley.
And they lost in heartbreaking fashion too, with the Addicks scoring the winning goal of a 2-1 victory in the fourth minute of stoppage-time.
The victory has cast doubt on Donald’s ownership, having vowed to help Sunderland back to the second tier when he purchased the Wearside club from Ellis Short in May 2018.
It has also put a big question mark over the future of manager Jack Ross, who has faced criticism for failing to secure promotion with the league’s biggest transfer budget.
But in an exclusive interview with talkSPORT, Donald has insisted neither he nor Ross are going anywhere.
Speaking to talkSPORT host Jim White after Sunday’s play-off defeat, the Black Cats chief said: “It’s absolutely galling to not have delivered for the fans.
“That’s twice we’ve been to Wembley this season and twice we haven’t delivered for the fans, I’m absolutely gutted. This is a killer.
“I will be here [next season]. I might sell some of my investment, but I don’t know yet.
“But what can you do? You’ve just got to go again.
“Financially we don’t need to let the club go, we’re safe enough, but if we really need to get back up to the Premier League we need some investment.
“So I’ll have a think about that over the next few days and have a look at the options in front of us.
“The bottom line is, off the field the club is safe. From where the club was 12 months ago, financially we’re secure so we haven’t got to rush into anything.”