Source: Northern_Echo
Inconsistency is to be expected from young guns – Bruce
STEVE Bruce has admitted that inconsistency is an inevitable consequence of fielding the youngest side in the Premier League.[LNB] Sunderland's starting lineup in Saturday's goalless draw with Fulham had an average age of just 24, the youngest in the league this season, and it dropped even lower when Ahmed Elmohamady replaced Anton Ferdinand in the opening ten minutes.[LNB] Ironically, Fulham's starting line-up - average age 31 - was the oldest in the topflight, and with the two sides eventually cancelling themselves out, Bruce was left frustrated despite a creditable result.[LNB] The Black Cats boss conceded his side had failed to scale the heights they had achieved in some of their recent performances, but insisted inconsistency was an inevitable by-product of such a calculated focus on youth.[LNB] We've gone for a young side, a vibrant squad if you like, said Bruce, who is hoping Ferdinand's latest injury setback does not leave him on the sidelines for too long. We have the nucleus, the makings of a very good side here, but they are young and when you are young you are going to get performances which are up and down a bit. Unfortunately, we got a down one at Fulham.[LNB] I couldn't fault their effort and endeavour, but you do get inconsistency. Having said that, though, this result lifted us to sixth in the Premier League and four out of our next six games are at home, where our record is fantastic.[LNB] Let's see what we can achieve, but we have a young side and a young side needs a bit of time. We're coming along nicely, and overall we have the makings of a decent side, unfortunately we've just not seen it at Fulham. We're improving though. I wanted to go young, and hopefully we have the stability to allow them to grow.[LNB] That stability contrasts with events at the North- East's other Premier League club, and Bruce feels a degree of security in his position is enabling him to make decisions with half an eye on Sunderland's future.[LNB] I'm the longest-serving manager in the North-East and I've only been here 18 months, he said. It's been carnage and chaos in the North-East, but I'm extremely proud of what we've done.[LNB] I'm delighted to be the Sunderland manager. One of the reasons I came back home was because of the people I would be working for. Niall (Quinn) is a football person and I'm lucky, I've got one of the really good jobs.[LNB] The people who run the club let me get on with managing the team and the owner has put his hand in his pocket for the last two years.[LNB] We've come a long way in 18 months already, and well done to them because the people I work with are good people.[LNB]
