A run down on how its going so far ....

'IT is always unwise to read too much into pre-season friendlies but Steve Bruce’s body language gave the game away as his side clawed their way to a battling draw in Mönchengladbach.

The Black Cats chief had a right to be stomping his feet after seeing Titus Bramble ludicrously dismissed by referee Christian Bandurski in the closing stages of Sunderland’s final Bundesliga examination.

Not only did it swipe the headlines and cause a measure of red-and-white anxiety back home, but it also denied a player clearly in dire need of more minutes from playing any part in Wednesday’s trek to Kilmarnock, a game that marks a stepping up of pre-season preparations.'

But was Bruce stressing? Not a bit of it. Sauntering over to the cavernous mixed zone in the bowels of Borussia Mönchengladbach’s superb 54,000-capacity all-seater arena, he was calm, measured and in tremendous spirits.

“I’m not going to get involved in referees already, but it’s fair to say we’ve had two corkers over here,” he said, a broad smile crossing his face.

“Maybe I’ll insist we have a neutral one next time we come – or an Austrian or Spanish referee!


“Big Titus has been out for the best part of five months and I had a word with the referee beforehand to say ‘Look, it’s his first game back in months and he’ll make the odd challenge’.

“It was more clumsy than anything else. It’s a frustration, but thank goodness it’s only a friendly and he won’t miss the first game of the season.”

Imagine Bruce taking that line in the face of such an injustice when top flight hostilities resume next month. And also, contemplate whether his refreshingly Zen attitude would be present if he were not happy with Sunderland’s progress during a testing week in Germany.

Results over the three tour games don’t really give a true reflection of a training camp that has thrown up more than a few reasons to be cheerful.

While Sunderland’s defence have struggled a shade over the matches, they are at least actively engaged in full training and games again.

Young defender Louis Laing has been brilliant, Sebastian Larsson just as good and Stéphane Sessegnon is now fully integrated as part of the group.

This, it seems, is a happy camp caught up in the generally positive vibes created by an impressive recruitment drive.

There remain a few Achilles heels in the Black Cat mix – not least the lack of a recognised left winger. Bruce had earmarked Charles N’Zogbia for that position, but with Wigan talking telephone numbers over a player asking for an eye-watering £65,000-a-week it is one to discount for the moment.

And that leaves Bruce with a choice between David Vaughan, Larsson, Kieran Richardson and Jack Colback – none of whom really offer the threat, creativity or scintillating pace of a natural ‘leftie’.

Vaughan was the man charged with the task at Borussia-Park and he is clearly a player with a deft touch and vision that Sunderland have done well to recruit. But a winger? Not in a million years – and when a player as mild-mannered as the Wales schemer is imploring Bruce not to deploy him on the left it does seem like a bad idea.

The other agenda item up for discussion in Bruce’s Cleadon office this week will be firepower – or potential lack of it. We saw enough of Connor Wickham and Ji Dong-Won to suggest they have bright futures on Wearside. They were responsible for Sunderland’s brightest moment on Saturday when they dovetailed brilliantly to lay on a chance that the England Under-21 striker narrowly rolled wide of Marc-André ter Stegen’s right-hand post.

Ji had tricked his marker with a nice sleight of foot, while Wickham – all power and poise – simply brushed off Philip Daems before shooting.

Intoxicating stuff. If only you could have said the same for the rest of a one-paced match that wasn’t much more than typical pre-season fare – albeit a loosener played in a fantastic, state-of-the-art arena.

 

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Maybe this made the ref watch him even more.


Dong-Won seems to be the star so far.