Source: Northern_Echo
Bramble happy to silence North-East critics
TITUS BRAMBLE believes he has proved the doubters wrong with a remarkable first season back in the North-East.[LNB] The former Newcastle United centre-half returned to the region in the summer after two seasons with Wigan Athletic - a spell which revitalised the much-maligned defender.[LNB] Steve Bruce took a punt on Bramble and took him to the DW Stadium, then raised eyebrows to sign him again, this time for Sunderland.[LNB] After bouncing back from defeat at Everton with a fine defensive display at the Emirates on Saturday, Bramble paid tribute to his mentor.[LNB] He said: "I hope I've proved people wrong. I'm just enjoying my football and I'm enjoying working with the manager. Brucie has always had faith in my ability and he has restored a lot of my confidence.[LNB] "I'm really happy here, playing week in week out and hopefully I'm showing what I can do as a player. I can't speak highly enough of the man, he's a massive help to me and always has been."[LNB] Bramble's time on Tyneside was dogged by costly mistakes, earning the nickname of Titus Shambles from his detractors, but his Sunderland spell has been - for the most part - of high quality.[LNB] However, his side's push for a European place took a massive dent with a four-game losing run, which the centre-half was delighted to help halt on Saturday.[LNB] Bramble said: "We haven't played badly this year, but the last game at Everton, it wasn't acceptable really. We've managed to keep the confidence levels up as a group, but this was very important. Not just because of the point, but also the clean sheet.[LNB] "It does become a worry when you go on a bad run. We have kept working hard and we have kept believing.[LNB] "We know if we do the things right that the manager drills into us we are a good side and we have shown that at Arsenal.[LNB] "I was pleased with my performance, I wasn't happy with what happened at Everton. Defensively we were all over the place at Goodison.[LNB] "The manager has been annoyed. We hadn't kept a clean sheet in six games and we've conceded as many goals in that time as we did in the first 15, 20 games.[LNB] "We have gone back to basics a little bit and we've been rewarded with a good point. This result has got our season back on track, we needed it. The last four games had sent us on a bit of a slide, but this keeps the season going."[LNB] Bramble was at the centre of controversy when he lost his balance and dragged Arsenal's Andrey Arshavin to the ground when the Russian had shot wide - an incident Arsene Wenger believed was worthy of a penalty.[LNB] But Bramble said: "I suppose Andrey was a little too honest, he stayed on his feet when he could have gone down. But I like to think it is just good defending. He didn't score and we got a point from the game.[LNB] "I put him off - that's what I'm there to do."[LNB]
