Source: Northern_Echo
Bramble hails his top bosses
FOUR years after his spell at Newcastle United reached its end, Titus Bramble has shown at Sunderland this season that he has the ability and the on-field temperament that Sir Bobby Robson always felt he had.[LNB] Bramble will be at the heart of the Black Cats defence today, forming the centre-piece of a backline in which Steve Bruce has pinned enormous faith in him since surprising fans on Wearside by acquiring a former Magpies defender in the summer.[LNB] His consistent displays for Sunderland have won over many of his doubters in the North-East, vindicating Bruce's decision to take him from Wigan for just £1m.[LNB] Having played his best football under Bruce, however, there was very little for him to think about when the opportunity arrived to return to the North-East, albeit with Newcastle's staunchest rivals.[LNB] Robson convinced Newcastle to pay £5m for a young, largely untested, centre-back from Ipswich Town in the summer of 2002 and he still draws on the experiences of his time with Robson as a period that helped him grow in to the footballer he is now.[LNB] "Sir Bobby was a fantastic manager. Along with Steve Bruce, those two guys are the best managers by a million miles I have worked under. They are great man managers and a joy to work under," said Bramble.[LNB] "Sir Bobby has made a massive impact on my career. Every time Sir Bobby spoke, you would listen because of what he has achieved. When he speaks you listen. He would pull you to one side and you would listen. Those things are in my head and I will remember those things forever."[LNB] Bramble has also had his fair share of problems off the pitch during his career, but under Robson and now Bruce he feels he has matured into a different character and player.[LNB] "I could tell many stories about my time with Bobby," said the 29-year-old. "I was a young man at Newcastle, I was a kid, and coming from a small town like Ipswich to a club the size of Newcastle, with a massive fan base, was a lot of pressure. [LNB] "It was a great night life and I enjoyed that as a 20-year-old more than the football. But Sir Bobby was a massive help for me, he helped me to understand that I was there as a footballer, to play football. There were other things that I will remember which will stay between me and him.[LNB] "Day to day with Bobby would be great, he would regularly forget your name and he would lift up his arm slowly, point and ramble while he remembered. Someone would have to help him. When I first signed he would call me Corty (Carl Cort) or Shola (Ameobi). It was a great laugh and a great time to work with him."[LNB] Bramble thinks there are similarities between his two favourite managers and he thinks Sunderland's Corbridge-born boss has all the ingredients to become a real success story in the game.[LNB] Despite Sunderland's defeat at Stoke last weekend, they can climb back up to fifth sixth today and close the seven-point gap to fifth-placed Tottenham if they defeat the North Londoners at the Stadium of Light this evening.[LNB] A top eight finish would be an achievement in itself for Bruce in his second season in charge, but Bramble thinks that under Bruce there is every chance European football could arrive on Wearside in the not too distant future.[LNB] The defender said: "It's very hard to even think about pushing for the top four. So hard. Chelsea are spending £70m on two players on deadline day. The top four is so hard to break in to. [LNB] "There's a little batch underneath the top four competing for the European place that I think a club like Sunderland should be competing for every year. It's a massive club, so why shouldn't Sunderland be thinking like that[LNB] "The manager brought in two fantastic signings in January in Sessegnon and Muntari and that has given us another lift. That has given us another boost. We just have to see how things go but this is a great club with plenty of ambition."[LNB]
