Mainly about the two loanees...... MARTIN OâNEILL believes deadline-day signings Wayne Bridge and Sotirios Kyrgiakos will have a part to play in Sunderlandâs season, despite barely featuring so far. The on-loan defenders were brought in on the last day of the January transfer window to reinfore a back line that was creaking at the seams. But with Phil Bardsley, John OâShea, Michael Turner and Kieran Richardson in excellent form after coming through injuries, the new arrivalsâ chances have been severely limited. Manchester City full-back Bridge has seen only eight minutes of action and Wolfsburg centre-back Kyrgiakos none at all. OâNeill, though, expects his new boys to make an important contribution, pointing out there is still a substantial chunk of the season remaining. âThey will play their part, absolutely,â said the Sunderland boss. âWeâve still got a third of the season to go and I expect both Wayne and Sotirios to play a part during that time. âThey havenât had much game time as yet â or any, in Kyrgiakosâs case â but the team has been doing fine recently and they understand that.â Bridgeâs cameo came the day after he signed, when he saw out the final few minutes of Sunderlandâs 3-0 win over Norwich at the Stadium of Light, the former England international playing neat and nimble stuff which suggested he could prove a real asset. Having been frozen out at City this season, that outing against Norwich was actually his first Premier League appearance of the campaign, but it was enough to suggest he is still a quality player. OâNeill said: âI have spoken to Wayne and firstly itâs a matter of him getting used to the environment, and getting used to being involved again at first-team level. Secondly, itâs a case of him going in and making an impact. âConsidering he has only played one cup game for City this season, and that was back in August, Iâve been pleasantly surprised by Wayneâs match fitness. âBut, obviously, the only time I will really know is when he comes into the side in match circumstances. Iâve every confidence he can do well for us.â With centre-backs Titus Bramble, Wes Brown and Matt Kilgallon all injured, OâNeill brought in ex-Liverpool man Kyrgiakos as cover for his defensive pairing of John OâShea and Michael Turner. But OâShea and Turner have played every minute since then and, with Kilgallon now making his way back to fitness, the Greek has a greater challenge than his fellow new signing. OâNeill, though, is delighted that both men have given him extra options and insurance. âWhen Kyrgiakos came in, we had problems in central defence,â OâNeill pointed out. âTitus was ruled out for a fairly lengthy time, as was Wes, and I wasnât sure how long Matt would be out for, so it was important to strengthen in that area. âBringing in Wayne also gave us another defensive option and it also meant that we could switch Kieran round, if needed, âKieran has done fine at left-back, but Iâm sure he would like to play in midfield if possible. âBut Iâve been very happy with young Jack Colback, Lee Cattermole, Craig Gardner and David Vaughan in those roles. âSo I suppose, for the first time since I have been here, we are looking a wee bit more healthy in terms of the squad and the fact that the loan lads have come in has helped that.â
tbf this man is simply a genius by doing this he is probably keeping their morale up and keeping them in high spirits and therefore nothing can affect the squad i hope they do get some game-time but complete genius this man is
The players in the starting eleven have made it very hard for MON to change things and long may it continue...
Isn't this fantastic to see? Not one of them is letting the side down. Belief, passion and energy from all of them
One quote that.. Lets Richardson know that MON knows he wants midfield Lets the midfield know they need to keep performing or else Lets Bridge know he will get a chance Puts nice pressure on and reassures at the same time
and link-up. Then we have McLean sweeping down the left, Bramble in the thicket of things, Gardner tidying up in the middle of the field ...not sure about the roles for Brown and Dong.
Nice isn't it, that our manager has so much confidence in what he is seeing. For the first time in years I feel as though this could be the start of long standing good times at SAFC. No false dawn this time around.
