Source: Eurosport
Collins demands top-half finish
Sunderland defender Danny Collins will settle for nothing less than a top-10 finish as he prepares for the new Barclays Premier League campaign.
The 28-year-old Welshman led the Black Cats in their opening pre-season friendly at Darlington with skipper Dean Whitehead close to sealing a move to Stoke.
Steve Bruce's men completed a comfortable 4-0 win over the League Two outfit before heading off to Portugal and then, next weekend, the prestigious Amsterdam Tournament.
However, all that is merely the prelude to the opening game of the new league season at Bolton on August 15 and Collins is hoping for a big improvement on their scrap for top-flight survival last time around.
Asked what the aim should be for the new campaign, he said: "Top half - I don't see anything below top half as good enough.
"Looking at Fulham last season, they finished seventh and I didn't really feel they, when we played them over the two games, were any better than us. But they perhaps worked together better as a team and that is the sort of benchmark we have got to be looking at for next season."
