EXPERIENCED campaigner Bolo Zenden has warned any outcome to the season is possible as Sunderland prepare to resume their schizophrenic campaign against his former club Liverpool this weekend.
With nine games left of the most open season in the Premier League era the Black Cats lie in tenth place – ten points off a guaranteed Europa League spot but just seven ahead of West Ham in the final relegation place.
European dreams raised by the club’s fantastic run of form at the back end of 2010 appear to have been dashed by results elsewhere, which have left a fifth-placed finish looking like the only route into continental competition, but Zenden says he never allowed himself to get carried away.
While he admits it has been a “weird” year for Sunderland, he remains confident of a top-ten finish – which was the height of Steve Bruce’s ambitions when the
season kicked off in August. Zenden said: “We are two points away from seventh, but we are still very close to the clubs chasing behind.
“It is a season where anything can happen, a weird season.
“I am wondering how many points you will need to be safe and I don’t know what the answer is.
“In the past it could be 32, but now you are looking at 40 or even 42. This year it is very close.
“I am still very confident we can secure a top-ten spot.
“When you are sixth in the league people are saying let’s go for Europe, but I always think you have to calm down. You have to get past the January window and then see what happens, but we are still hoping to get into the top half and we should be able to do that with the squad we have.”
Building on the excellent performance against Arsenal is crucial but in resurgent Liverpool – who will arrive with record signing Andy Carroll in tow – they have a real challenge ahead of them.
Despite last night’s Europa League exit, former Red Zenden believes the club has turned the corner since the appointment of Anfield legend Kenny Dalglish, but believes a packed-out Stadium of Light can make a positive contribution to Sunderland’s bid for a first league victory in six.
He added: “For a year it was all turmoil. That is why the results have suffered, but King Kenny has come back in and they are playing again. The massive boost they have had was the result against Manchester United.
“That will give them a positive vibe and will make a big difference to them, but they cannot rely on just one excellent game. When we play Liverpool we will try everything we can to claim a win, and if it is packed to the rooftops that will give us a little bit extra – it always does when the stadium is full to bursting. “
Meanwhile, Black Cats hitman Asamoah Gyan has dismissed talk of a revenge mission as he prepares to face Luis Suarez for the first time since their World Cup quarter-final confrontation. Suarez’s last-minute hand ball denied Gyan’s Ghana in South Africa and, after the Sunderland striker missed the resulting penalty, Uruguay went on to steal a semi-final spot in a penalty shoot out, but Sunderland’s livewire forward says retribution is not on his mind.
He said: “It is not about Uruguay and Ghana, but about Liverpool and Sunderland.”
