Two journalists have been made redundant from a dedicated football club website set up by a regional publisher earlier this year – but the platform is to continue operating.

As reported by HTFP in January, We Are Sunderland was set up as a specialist portal for news about Sunderland AFC by Newsquest, which also owns the Northern Echo.

However the two dedicated journalists taken on to operate the new venture have now been made redundant following what are understood to be “structural changes” at the site.

HTFP has been told there are no plans to close the site, but Newsquest has declined to say how it will be staffed or how the new structure will operate.

One of the two axed journalists, Matty Hewitt, announced his departure in a post on X.

He wrote: “Bitterly disappointed to say I’ll no longer be working for @WeAreSunlun after being made redundant. We’ve given it our all since launching back in January and covering #SAFC again has been a blast. It’s never dull.”

The launch of We Are Sunderland was designed to emulate the success of Newsquest’s two dedicated football club sites in Glasgow, the Rangers Review and the Celtic Way.

The two subscription-based sites, launched in 2021, have since gone on to become an established part of the Scottish football media scene.

Editor Gavin Foster, who also edits the Echo, said at the time of the launch: ““Sunderland AFC has a huge fan base – and the place it has in the hearts of the city led us to believe it was crying out for a new dedicated site to give fans everything red and white in one place.”

Subscribers to We Are Sunderland received an exclusive daily newsletter with bespoke news, features and analysis for an introductory offer of £1 for the first six months.