Source: Northern_Echo
Cana is satisfied with Cats’ campaign
THEY might have slipped to 12th in the table after Blackburn beat Arsenal on Monday, but Lorik Cana feels Sunderland should still regard the current campaign as a success.[LNB] The Black Cats head into the final weekend of the season 15 points clear of the bottom three, a marked contrast to the situation a year ago when Ricky Sbragia's side could have been relegated on the final day.[LNB] While a mid-season run of 14 games without a victory represented a significant blip, Sunderland have enjoyed a strong start and finish to the campaign.[LNB] And while further progress will be expected next season, Cana will look back on the last nine months with a feeling of pride.[LNB] It has not been easy, but it looks as though we will finish in the middle of the table,[LNB] said the Albania international.[LNB] Our goal was to finish in the top half and we can still do that.[LNB] It has been a season of ups and downs, but I think we have to be happy at the end.[LNB] Everything has not been perfect because there have been some hard moments for the team and myself, but I think it has been a good season and something to build on for the future.[LNB] In many ways, Cana's personal form has mirrored that of Sunderland as a whole.[LNB] The former Marseille skipper performed superbly in the first four months of the season, only to suffer a downturn in form at the turn of the year.[LNB] He has struggled with injury in the second half of the campaign, but rejects suggestions that his recent difficulties are an inevitable product of an overseas player adapting to life in the Premier League.[LNB] Your first season in a different league can be tough,[LNB] he said. But that depends on the player and their mentality.[LNB] How is the rest of your life[LNB] How do you get on with your team-mates, the fans and everything[LNB] It is different for every player but, for myself, I have really enjoyed myself since the start of the season. I have a great relationship with everyone here my teammates, the fans and the manager.[LNB] Cana is likely to start the final game of the season at Molineux, before embarking on a well-earned break with his family.[LNB] Like most football fans, he will spend the bulk of the summer watching the World Cup, and while he expects France to be dark horses in South Africa, he regards Spain as deserved favourites.[LNB] Who is going to win it It is hard to look past Spain,[LNB] said Cana.[LNB] They have a fantastic team and won the European Championships, but it can sometimes be hard to follow that with another win because everyone expects you to do well.[LNB] They deserve to be favourites, but it is not always easy to be the favourites in the competition. Everybody is looking at you. Brazil will always be there. Nobody is talking about France especially the Irish but I think they will be good outsiders.[LNB] As Albania captain, Cana has recent experience of two of the teams playing in South Africa, and he does not consider Portugal as potential winners having seen them struggle twice in qualifying.[LNB] Portgual and Denmark were in Albania's group, he said.[LNB] I can't see Portugal winning it. We played them twice and, even though they have fantastic players, I don't think they are good enough to win.[LNB] We drew in Portugal and they scored a last-minute winner in Albania.[LNB] If you struggle to beat Albania in two games, you are not good enough to win the World Cup.[LNB]
