Sunderland manager David Moyes has admitted that he may not have taken the job with the Black Cats over the summer if he had been made fully aware of the club's financial situation.

The Premier League's basement side are currently in financial dire straits, with a debt of £140m and Financial Fair Play regulations meaning that even loan deals are unlikely in the January transfer window.

"Managing Sunderland always had an appeal to me but, if I'd known about the financial situation, I'd have needed to look at it in a different way," Moyes told reporters in his pre-match press conference. "I'd have had to have thought a lot more about taking the job. I didn't see us having no money in January. I'm disappointed I won't be able to do some work in January and build on what we've done so far.

"It's a bigger challenge than I thought because of the situation the club are in and the situation I've been put in. It's a bigger job than I expected. I didn't know the club could be going up for sale. I wasn't made aware of it before.

"That would probably be what I'd say is the difficulty. I knew what we were spending in the summer was small in comparison to other clubs – and I said that to the owner but I didn't see us having no money now. I hoped we'd get things done in January but that has shown itself not to be the case. But I'm going to move on. I've dealt with it in my head and we're getting on with it."

Moyes's men welcome Watford to the Stadium of Light this afternoon in their final game before Christmas.