Source: Team_Talk
Sbragia vows to avoid derby drama
Sunderland had the better of a goalless draw at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday to move five points clear of Newcastle and Middlesbrough, who meet at St James' Park on Monday.
If that game ends all-square, one win from their final two games will be enough to keep Sunderland in the top flight for another season.
"I am not going to watch it," revealed Sbragia.
"I would prefer to be down at the pub rather than pulling my hair out watching it myself.
"When Newcastle played Portsmouth a couple of weeks ago, I got a text from a friend at 10.20pm telling me it was a draw.
Hopefully I will get the same text again."
Sbragia could reflect on the opportunities squandered by Kieran Richardson for not getting three points.
However, he was indebted to goalkeeper Marton Fulop for getting one.
The Hungarian had barely had a shot to save such was the tepid nature of Bolton's performance.
But Gary Cahill's header seemed set to creep in during stoppage time until Fulop clawed it away.
"I thought it was in," admitted Bolton boss Gary Megson.
"It was a magnificent save. I could not see him getting across and getting his fingertips to it."
Had Cahill scored, it would have dumped Sunderland right back in the mire.
However, with Hull losing, even if Monday's crucial Tyne-Tees spat ends up in a positive outcome, Sbragia's men will still be well placed to escape.
"It could be a significant save," said Sbragia.
"If we had lost it would have been a big disappointment because I felt we did enough to get something from the game."
With the ankle injury which forced Kenwyne Jones off midway through the second-half apparently not too serious, Sbragia is hoping to have a fully fit squad available for the trip to Portsmouth on Monday week, by which time Sunderland's future could already be assured.
If not, he will be able to make the trip south with more confidence following a far better performance than his side had managed in recent weeks.
"Maybe we could have done with the blood pressure coming down a bit so we showed a bit more composure in front of goal but at least we created chances," he said.
"At this stage of the season, winning matches is not easy.
"It is okay saying you have three games to get something in but doing it is another matter entirely."
Mathematically, Bolton are not safe either.
However, with 40 points to their name, they will be playing top flight football again next season, with Megson pledging to bring in some new faces to make a stronger challenge.
"We need to add flair and punch," he said. "We have only used 18 players this season, one of whom (Kevin Nolan) was sold in January.
"We will do our best with the finance available because we must have more numbers to choose from."