Sunderland must withstand physical challenge
Sep 18 2009 by Luke Edwards, The Journal
STEVE Bruce has challenged his new-look Sunderland side to prove they are no longer a soft touch on the road in the Premier League, as he warned them about the pitfalls of under-estimating Burnley this weekend.
Bruce knows all about Turf Moor having spent four years there as a schoolboy, and he expects a rigorous physical and mental examination when he takes his Black Cats side to the small Lancashire town this weekend.
The ex-Manchester United centre-back has overseen a radical change in personnel at the Stadium of Light in his short time at the club.
And he is interested to discover whether – as he believes -– the players he has brought in over the summer are better suited to games like this than the ones he let go.
“You definitely need certain credentials to play in the Premier League,” said Bruce, who will be without forceful midfielder Lee Cattermole this weekend as the England Under-21 international has a heel problem which has prevented him from training this week.
“You need a physical presence, a bit of pace and power, and if you don’t teams will just blow you away.
“That’s the difference between this league and the Championship. Every week, you are playing against people who are big, strong, athletic and mobile, and they’re talented too. So physically, we had to change.
“And when I say that, we mustn’t forget that the club has only been out of the Championship for two years. We’re only 18 months ahead of Burnley in that respect.
“Yes, we have wonderful facilities, but we’ve only been here for a couple of years and in the previous ten years we’ve been down four times. That’s the mentality I have to change.”
Burnley have already taken the notable scalps of Manchester
United and Everton at home this season and Bruce is wary of becoming another victim of a club which is revelling in the fact it makes things uncomfortable for visiting sides.
It is a similar ethos to the one used by Wimbledon in the late 80s and early 90s to such good effect, and the Sunderland boss knows their players will have a fire in their belly on Saturday because it is how he used to feel when he first played in the top flight. Bruce explained: “There are 1,500 professionals in this country and probably only 200 in the Premier League, which creates all this publicity. That means that the vast majority are in the lower leagues and I take my hat off to them.
“It’s not a long career and they play to make sure they can pay their mortgage and have a decent house. It’s not all glamour down there that’s for sure.
“I know what it was like, I was down there for seven or eight years before I got my chance. We’ve got one here in Michael Turner. Once he got the chance to play in the Premier League he thrived on it, and there are plenty of others who are itching to do that.
“Burnley have given hope to everybody. They have players who have worked their way up and they will be looking to prove another point on Saturday.”
And, while Burnley’s facilities are not a patch on Sunderland’s luxurious Stadium of Light, Bruce will remind his players that it is what happens on the pitch, not the dressing room, which determines results. He said: “You can play on the ethos if you like, I did it at Wigan too. Your players on the pitch still have to go out and do it. It doesn’t matter how bad the dressing rooms are.
“In Wimbledon’s case for example, yes it was a horrible poky dressing room, but that didn’t stop them from beating you.
“They had some decent players who played to a system, and the same goes for Burnley, for Wigan. In its own way, that built a spirit, and that could have been a problem here.”
