Europe is our aim this year, says Titus Bramble
Jan 3 2011 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal
TITUS Bramble has told his Sunderland team-mates that they should dare to dream about Europe after moving into the Premier League's top six.
Manager Steve Bruce is still desperately trying to downplay talk of Europa League football, insisting his sole focus is on a top-half finish.
But after Saturday’s 3-0 win over Blackburn Rovers, captain-for-the-day Bramble revealed he has adjusted his sights.
“We are back to sixth and confidence is sky high,” said the centre-back. “Now you never know, we have got to be aiming for Europe.
“I don’t think we should show a lack of confidence because we are a good team, so why not go for Europe? I think we are good enough, especially with the way we play at home.
“You have to set yourself high targets in this game and I don’t see anything wrong with that.”
Having played in the Champions League and Uefa Cup for Newcastle United, Bramble knows all about qualifying for continental competitions.
“I think this season we have a great chance of qualifying for Europe,” the defender said. “This club deserves to be in Europe because of its size.
“At the start of the season maybe we were aiming more for top ten, but now we should be going for Europe. It is so special playing against the best teams in Europe.
“It is a fantastic feeling and I would love to get back there with Sunderland.”
Saturday’s win, secured by goals from Danny Welbeck, Darren Bent and Asamoah Gyan, came after a disappointing start to the festive period which saw Sunderland lose consecutive matches for the first time this season. They were outclassed at Manchester United on
Boxing Day, then outplayed Blackpool two days later, only to lose 2-0.
“The response from the players to losing twice has been fantastic and shows what we are all about,” commented Bramble.
“We were the same after losing to Newcastle. We put together a string of good results and more importantly good performances. That shows a lot of resilience and we bounced back well.
“That is down to the manager. He wants his team to show a lot of heart. He installs that sort of belief in all the players.
“We carried on from Tuesday and did the job this time. We said after the Blackpool game we will probably create fewer chances but we will take them and that is exactly what happened.”
