Brown To Get Start This Week

STEVE Bruce will hand Wes Brown his Sunderland debut this week – as he backs his creaking defence to have shaken off its ring rust in time for the big kick off at Anfield.

The Black Cats’ back four was the main talking point after an otherwise successful tour of Germany ended in fractious circumstances at Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday.

Titus Bramble’s red card, along with Michael Turner’s unconvincing display, gave Bruce something to ponder with the Premier League season less than three weeks away.

Suspended Bramble will miss Wednesday’s fine-tuning exercise at Kilmarnock, but the better news is that Wes Brown (pictured left) is finally ready to make his Sunderland bow.

Brown will be a key part of a Black Cats defence that Bruce is certain will come good in time for the trip to Liverpool on August 13.

“I think we’ll be fine come Liverpool. I know there might be one or two concerns, but we’re still early in pre-season,” Bruce said.

“The biggest concern for me, the most important part of pre-season, is looking after the ones who’ve been out for a time.

“Turner and Bramble are the big ones, they are the ones that concern me – and they are the ones we need to get up to speed.

“Kieran Richardson has been out weeks but he’s a different shape, a different balance, a different type.

“The bigger lads are like big QE2s to get moving on. We need (to get) games into them – the more they play, the better they’ll get.

Thankfully we’re two-and-a-half weeks in, they’re three weeks in – they’re far better than they were two weeks ago against York and we expect them to be all right over the next few weeks. They’ll only get better.”

Bramble’s red card at Borussia-Park seemed harsh in the circumstances, especially after Bruce had requested that local referee Christian Bandurski took into account his lack of minutes.

In the event the official from Sunderland’s twin town of Essen did nothing of the sort, booking Bramble in the first half before whipping out a red card for a 71st-minute challenge on Australian midfielder Matthew Leckie that was clumsy but not particularly malicious.

Bramble will miss the midweek trip to Kilmarnock, which is a blow for a player who clearly needs games to sharpen up after nearly five months without competitive action.

Turner, too, looks off the pace and many will be looking to the two signings from Manchester United to add competition to an area that is causing a measure of concern.

Brown’s likely start at Rugby Park will certainly reassure Sunderland supporters who have already seen fellow former Red Devil John O’Shea fall to a hamstring injury since arriving on Wearside from Old Trafford.

The Republic of Ireland defender is probably another week from returning to full training, but former England man Brown will don red and white for the first time on Wednesday.

Asamoah Gyan will also play and Keiren Westwood will kick off his battle with Simon Mignolet to become first-choice shot-stopper by making his Black Cats bow too.

Bruce said: “Of course we’ve also got two to come in. Wes will probably play against Kilmarnock on Wednesday as well. That gives us competition for places and the main aim for me is to have as many selection headaches as I can come Liverpool, which is in three weeks time.”

Sunderland touched down in England on Saturday evening with Bruce declaring the tour a success.

The team didn’t win in their three games out in Germany, but the opposition was a fortnight ahead of them in their pre-season preparations.

And, as a bonding and fine-tuning exercise, the trip worked well – even if Sunderland had been on the receiving end of some dodgy refereeing decisions.

“Two Bundesliga sides in the first two weeks of being back was always going to be tough,” admitted Bruce.

“But I think we’ve acquitted ourselves well considering we’ve only been back for that long.

“Next time, though, we’ll just have to bring an independent referee and we might have a chance!”

 

Meaning what?

This is good.