Bardsley won't give up his spot easily

Nov 20 2008 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

PASCAL Chimbonda made his first step towards redemption at Sunderland last night with a run out for the reserves, but Phil Bardsley is not about to let him back into the first team without a fight.

Whether Chimbonda will be considered for a place in the squad to face West Ham at the weekend remains to be seen following reports the French full-back has been told he can find another club when the transfer window opens in January. The former Wigan and Tottenham defender – who played for the whole of last night’s reserve game against Blackburn – at least has an opportunity to persuade manager Roy Keane he deserves a second chance, having fallen foul of the Irishman’s strict discipline following his summer move to the Stadium of Light.

But Bardsley, who has done an excellent job since he replaced Chimbonda at right-back, is determined to hang on to his place in the side even if there is renewed competition for places in that position.

“I was out of the side at the start of the season, but the manager wants you to get your head down and work hard,” said Bardsley, who moved to Sunderland from Manchester United last January. “That’s what I’ve done. I was disappointed when I

wasn’t playing but now I’m back in the side I want to stay there. I’m sure that’s the same for all the players at he club and not all of us can play, but I won’t be giving this place up without a fight.”

Sunderland’s players responded to mounting pressure after a four-game losing run with a vital win at Blackburn Rovers last weekend and Bardsley hopes that result is the start of a different sort of run as the team enters the hectic winter months.

He said: “This is a crucial stage of the season because of the number of games. I’ve heard managers say you can normally tell how the league is going to pan out by the time you get to Christmas. We want to put a bit of a run together now and establish ourselves in the top half of the table.

“Of course it’s felt a little better around the place after the Blackburn game. We needed that win and I think the boys, especially in the second half, worked extremely hard.

“It’s a balancing act as a footballer. It can be difficult not to get caught up in the pressure that’s on the team when you lose four games in a row, but you have to try because things can change very quickly. If you win a couple of games, you can’t get too carried away, if you lose a few, it’s the same.

“A couple of results can transform things, especially when you are in a league that’s as tight as this one. If we put two wins together against West Ham, we’ll be in a strong position again, but last week we were in the bottom three and under pressure.”

Sunderland’s slump in results helped fuel rumours Keane was on the verge of quitting last week – something which has been laughed off by the Irishman – and Bardsley is confident his former Manchester United team-mate will be at Sunderland for a long time to come.

He added: “The manager isn’t really any different when things go badly because he’s been through it all before. He knows how difficult it is when you are playing some decent stuff and you’re not getting that little bit of lady luck you need to win a game. He’s shown faith in us and I think we did him proud with the three points at Blackburn. I’m not really sure what went on last week with the manager to be honest. He has done a great job and the lads love working with him. There’s no reason he wouldn’t want to be here.”