Source: Eurosport
Leadbitter: Stick with Sbragia
Sunderland midfielder Grant Leadbitter has called for patience amid pressure surrounding Ricky Sbragia's position at the Stadium of Light.Sbragia has only been in charge since December, but already there is speculation over his future.The threat of relegation remains a reality, with the Black Cats without a win in seven Premier League games and just two points above the drop zone.Leadbitter, though, has stressed the need for consistency at the helm, and has backed Sbragia, who is contracted to Sunderland until end of the 2010 season, to prove a success in the North East.He told The Journal: "People are criticising Ricky, but six or seven weeks ago everyone was saying he's brilliant."There's ups and downs in football and people need to realise that. You can't just jump on the bandwagon when things are going well and then start saying he's no good when we lose."I understand people are frustrated because they thought we were going to be top 10 or something like that. People need to realise that while we're improving, so are other teams."It could take us five, six, seven years to get to where we want to go. Look at David Moyes at Everton - he's had time, he's brought his own players in."They went through a sticky patch and he brought them through but they're a top-six club now and it's brilliant to see."[LNB]
