Craig Gordon saves Steve Bruce a new signing

Nov 3 2009 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

STEVE Bruce has shelved plans to strengthen Sunderland’s goalkeeping department after hailing Craig Gordon for rediscovering the form that made him Britain’s most expensive stopper.

After an injury-ravaged campaign that saw him play just 12 Premier League games for the Black Cats last season there were question marks surrounding his long-term Stadium of Light future – with Bruce going as far as drawing up a shortlist of possible replacements.

Gordon’s slow recovery from a knee operation meant that it was an understandable back-up plan, but after a series of fine displays since regaining the number one jersey, Bruce’s worries have been eased.

Even though the Scotland number one is still to recover fully from knee surgery, the Sunderland boss feels that Gordon looks like “the real deal” after a series of intensive training sessions with the club’s new goalkeeping coach Nigel Spink. Gordon has also benefited from a gradual reintroduction to first-team duties, with Márton Fülöp preferred at the start of the season – only for the Hungary keeper to himself suffer an injury.

The 26-year-old Gordon is

making the most of his reprieve and was excellent in Saturday’s pulsating draw at home against West Ham, pulling off a succession of stops that kept Sunderland in the game as they poured forward looking for a way back into a match they were two-nil down in at one stage.

“He is getting where he should be now. He looks like the real deal again, doesn’t he?” Bruce said. “He struggled a bit last year with injuries and all the rest of it.

“He had a bad knee when we came and maybe he just needs a little bit of confidence. He certainly produced a couple of saves when we needed him on Saturday which were right out of the top drawer.”