Anton Ferdinand even more determined

Oct 5 2009 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

“It felt like the ground was going to open up at the end, but that’s football and it’s how you react to these things that’s important. I’ve showed that I have character in the past, and I’m sure I’ll show that again,” he said.“I’ve had worse moments in football. I missed a penalty in the FA Cup final with West Ham and that was pretty hard to take.

“But these things happen. They either make you or break you.”

Ferdinand also felt that there was plenty to take from a performance that was easily the best of the season from a previously inconsistent Sunderland.

“We performed very, very well, and the last-minute goal doesn’t change that,” he said. “There won’t be many teams that come here and dictate the play like we did. We were working on it all week, and the gaffer was stressing that we had to keep the ball as much as we could. That’s how you do well here, and it showed that it worked.”

Meanwhile, Bruce was delighted with his side’s performance but knocked back suggestions his team was on the verge of joining Aston Villa, Spurs and Everton in the Premier League’s chasing pack.

“Not yet,” he insisted. “We must remember that last year we stayed up on goal difference.

“We made big changes over the summer quickly – I didn’t think it would happen that quickly.”