Source: Northern_Echo
Bruce unhappy with international schedule
STEVE Bruce has lambasted the scheduling of a round of internationals just three days before the start of the Premier League season, and admitted the enforced absence of a host of his players will hamper his preparations for Saturday's trip to Liverpool.[LNB] The Sunderland boss will be without seven senior squad members when he takes charge of training today, and the majority will not return to Wearside until the early hours of Thursday morning.[LNB] Given that most will have played on Wednesday night, that only leaves one training session for the likes of Keiren Westwood, Phil Bardsley, Seb Larsson, David Vaughan and Asamoah Gyan to complete their preparations for the Premier League opener at Anfield.[LNB] Other clubs are facing similar problems, but with Bruce having made nine new signings since the transfer window opened at the start of June, the situation is exacerbated at Sunderland.[LNB] "We'll have to wait until the international friendlies are out of the way before we can make our plans for Liverpool," said the Black Cats boss, who is confident Kieran Richardson will be fit for the opening day despite tweaking his groin in Saturday's goalless draw with Hibernian. "I find that really disappointing - hugely, hugely disappointing.[LNB] "You'd like all week to prepare your team but you can't do it. There you have it. It needs to be addressed."[LNB] In particular, Bruce is annoyed at the lack of opportunity to rehearse Sunderland's set-piece drills in the build up to this weekend's game.[LNB] Last season, the Black Cats struggled with free-kicks and corners, both in an offensive and a defensive capacity.[LNB] Larsson's arrival should help them pose more of a threat going forward, as the Sweden international is a renowned technician from set-pieces.[LNB] At the other end of the field, the capture of John O'Shea and Wes Brown should improve Sunderland's defending when the opposition deliver the ball into the box.[LNB] The precise details of who marks who are still to be ironed out though, and the time available for running through a series of practice drills will be limited.[LNB] "Set pieces were something we needed to improve," said Bruce. "And we've seen a marked improvement in that in pre-season.[LNB] "We will be a threat going forward, although defensively, out of the 54 goals we conceded last season, about 20 were from set-pieces. That was wrong as well.[LNB] "We're not the biggest, but we'll certainly be looking to improve on last season. You look to improve in all matters, that's your job.[LNB] "Overall, I'm very pleased with what we've done. I'm also pleased pre-season's over and the real ball's about to come out so we can get that competitive edge back into it."[LNB]
