Sunderland fans can just relax says Grant Leadbitter

Mar 30 2009 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

SUNDERLAND supporters have been asked to relax and allow the team to flourish under pressure by someone who has swapped the Stadium of Light terraces for its pitch.

Grant Leadbitter is unique among the Black Cats’ senior players in that he used to regularly watch the team as a fan, so can under stand the anxiety of those who spend their cash following the side.

The tension in the stands has been palpable recently as Sunderland have been dragged back into the Premier League relegation battle. And while midfielder Leadbitter insists negativity in the stands does not effect him personally, he believes it can be counter-productive to the team. “It hurts when the fans boo but I’ve got mates in the crowd, they can boo me if they want – I’m not bothered,” he said.

“They pay their money, they want their team to do well so it’s fair enough to express their opinion. They want to win, we want to win but sometimes we all maybe need to relax a bit more and let the players do what they’ve been sent out to do.”

That Sunderland should be embroiled in an undignified scrap at the wrong end of the table will not be what many fans envisioned when previous manager Roy Keane spent heavily last summer to take them to the fabled “next level”.

But despite the club being in just as uncomfortable a position as they were 12 months ago, Leadbitter believes progress has been made.

“It’s going down to the wire like it did last season,” he admitted. “But there has been improvement, Roy invested a

lot of money to bring in new players which has added quality and Ricky (Sbragia, Keane’s successor) has brought in a couple of his own – that’s definitely made us a lot stronger.”

The player from Fence Houses has featured in Sunderland’s last four matches – a rare run in a frustrating season for him. That sequence is threatened by the return from suspension at West Ham United on Saturday of fellow midfielder Kieran Richardson.

Leadbitter has an added incentive to face the Hammers. A good performance could allow him to test himself against one of his heroes the following week.

Manchester United are the next visitors to the Stadium of Light, and will have Paul Scholes back from a one-match suspension.

Keane compared his famous team-mate to Leadbitter, who wears Scholes’ number 18 in tribute.

“Kieran has probably been our best player this season,” said Leadbitter.

“But his being suspended doesn’t affect me and I haven’t felt added pressure to prove myself while he’s out.

“It was nice for Roy to compare me to Scholes. I have a lot of respect for Roy, he was a nice man but he’s gone.

“I haven’t heard from Roy since he left, no text messages nothing and that’s fine as far as I’m concerned, he’s in the past.

“I notice players looking back to what they’ve achieved and they’re the ones who fall by the wayside – you won’t find me doing that.

“If every young player doesn’t want to be like Paul Scholes there’s something wrong – he’s the best player in the Premier League, he’s proven that over the years.

“He’d be in the England squad if he’d not chosen to retire from the international scene.

“Top players all have talent but they work hard. I was always brought up by my family with the idea that whatever job you do, you work hard.”

Leadbitter was speaking on behalf of the SAFC Foundation at the Washington Millenium Centre, which with its support provided around 7,000 local youngsters with much-needed sports facilities last year.