Recently by James Hunter
STEVE BRUCE says Sunderland were at their best at the weekend - and their worst!
Two goals inside the first quarter-of-an-hour from Darren Bent - taking his haul to 20 in the Premier League - put the Black Cats in a matchwinning position against Birmingham, but the Wearsiders let the Blues back into the match in the second half.
In-form Scotland keeper Craig Gordon appeared to be holding Birmingham at bay single-handed at times in the second half, but even he couldn't prevent Cameron Jerome giving the Midlanders a lifeline on the hour to set up a tense finale.
Sunderland have conceded too many late goals for comfort this season, allowing 10 points to slip through their grasp in the process, and Gordon had to be at his brilliant best to stop the Blues snatching a share of the spoils before Fraizer Campbell made certain of the win by making it 3-1 late on.
ALAN HUTTON is relishing lining up against his old boss Alex McLeish when Sunderland host Birmingham tomorrow.
The Spurs defender, who is on loan at the Stadium of Light until the end of the season, worked under McLeish for five years at Glasgow Rangers until 2006 and earned his first senior international cap when the Ibrox boss took over the Scotland job the following year.
Now McLeish is in charge of Birmingham and has brought a contingent of Scots to St Andrew's, including striker James McFadden and midfielder Barry Ferguson.
SUSPENDED skipper Lorik Cana admits inconsistent refereeing has proved a major frustration in his first season in England.
The Sunderland midfielder will sit out this weekend's game against Birmingham as he completes a two-match ban for accumulating 10 yellow cards this season.
Cana knows his role as a ball-winner will inevitably lead to suspensions over the course of the campaign, but he feels he has been harshly treated by referees on some occasions this season.
A SWITCH to the left flank for Steed Malbranque could become permanent, with Sunderland boss Steve Bruce admitting the change has brought the best out of his French international.
Malbranque has spent most of his Black Career on the right, but injuries to Kieran Richardson and Andy Reid forced Bruce to move the 30-year-old to the opposite wing.
The switch has paid off, with Malbranque outstanding in Sunderland's 4-0 win over Bolton and the 1-1 draw with Manchester City.
LORIK CANA believes in-form Darren Bent can go on to become a world-class striker.
Bent notched the first Premier League hat-trick of his career in Sunderland's 4-0 romp against Bolton a week ago, taking his haul for the season to 19 in all competitions - with all but one of those goals coming in the league.
Those goals make him the second-highest scoring Englishman in the Premier League so far, with only Manchester United's Wayne Rooney ahead of him with 25.
CRAIG GORDON says Sunderland's cotton-wool treatment is getting the best out of John Mensah.
On-loan Lyon man Mensah has been a rock at the heart of Sunderland's defence in recent weeks, helping the Black Cats keep three clean sheets in their last four home games - with only Adam Johnson's injury-time equaliser for Manchester City yesterday preventing the Wearsiders making it four shut-outs out of four.
Mensah has been plagued by injury problems since his move to England and that has restricted him to just a dozen league appearances so far, but Sunderland's medical team have now devised a training regime which allows the Ghana skipper to take it easy during the week to ensures he is ready for matchdays.
KENWYNE JONES says Sunderland need fear no-one at home as they prepare to take on Champions League hopefuls Manchester City this weekend.
The Black Cats may have gone for four months without a league win before finally earning three points against Bolton in midweek, but at they have lost just twice at the Stadium of Light this season - against title contenders Chelsea and high-fliers Aston Villa.
Arsenal and Liverpool have both left Wearside pointless, proving Sunderland are capable of beating so-called Big Four sides.
SKIPPER Lorik Cana insists Sunderland will get along fine without him this weekend as they look to build on their midweek win over Bolton.
The Black Cats beat the Trotters 4-0 on Tuesday to end their 14-game winless streak.
However, the victory came at a price for Cana, who picked up his 10th booking of the season - and with it a two-game suspension.
DARREN BENT bagged his maiden Premier League hat-trick - but admitted he could have scored five!
The Sunderland striker took his goals haul to 19 for the season, 18 of which have come in the league, with a treble in last night's 4-0 romp against Bolton which ended the Black Cats' 14-game winless streak.
However, while Bent claimed the matchball with his hat-trick, he was put firmly in his place after the game by his dad - who pointed out he could have bagged five.
STEVE BRUCE is hoping the Red and White Army will make the difference tonight as Sunderland face a crunch relegation clash against Bolton.
Wigan's unexpected win against Liverpool last night saw Sunderland slip another place in the table - they are now just two places and three points above the relegation zone.
That has piled even more pressure on tonight's game as Bolton - who are only two points above Sunderland - arrive on Wearside looking for their third successive win.
The Black Cats, meanwhile, are desperate to break their 14-match winless streak.
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