Alan Hutton says Sunderland can rise again

Feb 8 2010 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

ALAN Hutton says the edginess of the Sunderland supporters should not be used as an excuse for sub-standard performances.

The on-loan defender was one of the brighter performers on a difficult afternoon at the Stadium of Light as the Wearsiders struggled to put away relegation candidates Wigan.

The Black Cats wilted under pressure in the first half and the tetchiness of the home crowd was palpable after Mame Diame’s impressive opener - but Hutton was not offering the crowd’s reaction as mitigation for a poor display.

While accepting Sunderland were not good enough for large spells, he believes the team has enough to escape a battle against the drop and says they must be mentally tough enough to overcome their crisis of confidence. He admitted: “My debut went OK, but it was not ideal getting a draw. You take the point and move on to the next game.

“There are quality players here, as there were at Spurs, but they have had a bad run of results.

“You just have to pick yourself up. Getting booed does not give me any problems.

“They pay their money and they are entitled to a performance. You just have to show them what you can do.

“It spurs me on because I want to show people what I can do and that is what we all did in the second half.

“It is a bit of confidence we need at the moment, but we have the talent.

“Maybe heads are down a wee bit, but we can build on the second half and take it from there.

“No one wants to be drawn into a relegation battle but the league is so tight at the bottom.

“I relish the challenge and I will be doing my best to get us out of trouble.

“It is such a close league. Win our next two or three and we are right back up there.”

Hutton added: “The crowd can benefit us, we get big support. It is not until you come here you realise how big the club are.

“I am not surprised about the size of the support and the squads at Spurs and here are relatively the same – we are just on a poor run.

“It is just a case of turning it around with a bit of luck.”

Hutton is hoping to make his loan move a permanent one in the summer and did his chances little harm with a tidy home bow.