Source: Eurosport
Ricky hopes Cats land on their feet
Sunderland boss Ricky Sbragia has sent his international players away to meet up with their countries praying for their safe return.A posse of Black Cats players, including first-teamers Marton Fulop, Craig Gordon, George McCartney, Paul McShane, Tal Ben-Haim, Kenwyne Jones, Carlos Edwards and David Healy, joined up with their respective compatriots in the wake of Sunday's 1-0 Premier League defeat at Manchester City.Most of the senior men face World Cup qualifying double headers, and will return to Wearside ahead of a tough league trip to West Ham.Jones and Edwards, who are in the Trinidad and Tobago squad for clashes with Honduras and the United States, will not be back until Friday, less than 24 hours before a huge game at Upton Park.Sbragia said: "It's a problem - it's a problem for everybody."We have got a couple of players coming back late on the Friday before West Ham, so we have to sit back and see how it goes and pray they don't get injuries."We can do a bit on the Thursday afternoon, but there are a couple missing - we don't see them until Friday - so it is a problem."We have to see how they do and make a decision on whether we think the journey might have been too much for them and pick a team we think can get something at West Ham."Sunderland are only three points clear of the relegation zone and nine short of the 41-point target their manager has set them for survival.[LNB]
