Cats enter the cauldron

May 18 2009 by Paul Cunningham, The Journal

If last week's trip to Bolton was very much a modern-day football experience, Sunderland can expect a much more old-style match tonight. Stuart Rayner reports

With Sunderland looking to buy British this summer and Davenport striking an effective partnership with another old team-mate, ex-West Ham United player Anton Ferdinand, his break could yet come on Wearside.

A man reportedly interesting Wolverhampton Wanderers hopes so. “I have enjoyed it and I would like to stay,” he says. “I enjoy coming to the training ground to train and work. The results haven’t been what I expected but that’s football. I just have to get on with it and see what happens in the summer. I haven’t heard anything yet about whether they want me to stay. The club are fully focused on the games that are left. Anything transfer-wise will be dealt with in the summer.”

If the prospect of conquering Mount Crouch is one Davenport is looking forward to, so is playing at Fratton Park. Little surprise when you hear of his past exploits. “I was going to keep my record quiet,” he said. “These things can come back to bite you. I have scored down there and had a good result there with West Ham earlier in the season, we won 4-1. Hopefully that will continue.

“The changing rooms are not the most up to date but it’s a ground I enjoy playing at. It’s one of the things you have to adapt to.

“Portsmouth will be thinking, ‘We have Sunderland at home and we can get a result’. You know what the crowd will be like when you do go there. We just have to be ready for that.”