Nyron Nosworthy urges players to stick together on pitch

Oct 29 2009 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

NYRON Nosworthy has urged Sunderland’s players to be as tight-knit on the field as they are off it when they go in search of revenge at home to West Ham United on Saturday.

Under Steve Bruce the Black Cats’ squad has become far smaller than the unwieldy group assembled by Roy Keane. As one of those on the outer edge, Nosworthy can see the personal benefits, but also believes it has further strengthened an already strong team spirit.

A spate of injuries have highlighted the problem with such a small pool of players – something Bruce has acquired by choice, not financial constraint – but Nosworthy can see positives.

“It helps everyone but there’s also pressure for those who are in the team,” he said, after a rare outing in Tuesday’s Carling Cup defeat by Aston Villa.

“If they’re not doing well there’s someone to take their place. It’s fresh competition and that’s how it should be at any football club. It’s changed the atmosphere little bit, but there’s been a good set of lads ever since I’ve been here.

“The camaraderie is very, very high and the team spirit is very, very good – during games, after games, and when we do things as a team. We’ve had highs and lows but now we’re winning games. The main thing is the boys have all stuck together and never had anything negative to say about each other. That’s the beauty of our football club.”

Nosworthy would like to see that translate into results away from Wearside, where Sunderland are in danger of earning a reputation as a soft touch.

“We can’t change our home form but we’ve got to change our away form,” he said. “We need to be a bit more resilient. The longer we keep a clean sheet, we’ve got the strike force to finish games.”

Last season’s televised 1-0 home reverse by West Ham was a pivotal moment in the Black Cats’ season.