Source: Northern_Echo
No signs of a Black Cats winter of discontent
DECEMBER is the month for giving, but last year, Sunderland took their benevolence to unnecessary extremes.[LNB] Six league matches, no victories, three points and a slide of five places down the Premier League table. It was certainly a bleak midwinter on Wearside.[LNB] Twelve months on, and the current campaign has followed a similar pattern to the first half of last season. Sunderland have made a strong start, with notable performances against members of the established 'Big Four', only to experience a defensive injury crisis as the temperature begins to drop.[LNB] Yet if Sunday's 1-0 win over West Ham is anything to go by, Steve Bruce's current side appear better equipped to cope with adversity than last season's squad.[LNB] Jordan Henderson's winner against the Hammers means Sunderland have already equalled last December's points tally, with four more games still to play.[LNB] Away games at Fulham and Manchester United accompany home matches with Bolton and Blackpool, and Bruce has set his squad a target of at least ten points from their five December outings.[LNB] Last year, they came nowhere near achieving such a tally. Twelve months on, however, and there is a confidence that January will arrive with the Black Cats firmly ensconced in the Premier League's top six.[LNB] "We're going into a good run of games and we have to make the most of them," said skipper Lee Cattermole, who was one of a number of senior players to be ruled out of last year's festive programme through injury.[LNB] "The gaffer pulled us to one side in training (last week) and said we need to try to get ten or 12 points this month to get us into the top six.[LNB] "We've made a decent start and that's helped with the league position. Last week, we were seventh, but there were a lot of teams on the same points. This week, we've moved clear of some of those sides."[LNB] Sunday's victory took Sunderland to within six points of the top four, but perhaps of more relevance is the four-point gap that now separates them from Newcastle United in 11th position.[LNB] They are beginning to cement a top-ten place, despite last weekend's late slip-up at Wolves, and are beginning to emerge as genuine contenders for European qualification.[LNB] Their away form will undoubtedly have to improve if they are to mount a sustained push for a top-six finish, which is why Saturday's trip to 17th-placed Fulham could be particularly instructive in terms of the extent of their ambitions in the second half of the season.[LNB] The Premier League is more unpredictable than ever, with the leading sides struggling to beat teams in the middle of the table. But Sunderland will struggle to pull clear of the mid-table pack if they cannot improve an away record that has seen them win just one of their eight league matches away from the Stadium of Light so far.[LNB] "I've never known a league quite like it, certainly in the ten years I've been managing in the top-flight," said Bruce. "It's so tight going into the Christmas period.[LNB] "If you look at the league table at the moment, Wigan are sitting in the last relegation place. But if they put back-to-back wins together, they could go up to eighth. That just shows you how tight it is.[LNB] "I think that's good for the league. The really top teams aren't getting things their own way any more, like they have done in the past. And I think teams like Sunderland, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Tottenham have made huge strides to try to get bigger and better squads and compete."[LNB] Bruce is hoping to add to his squad again in January, and his bargaining position in forthcoming meetings with chairman Niall Quinn will be strengthened if his side are still in the top seven at the turn of the year.[LNB] "This period for the club is a big period," agreed Cattermole. "You can see the club's going places and we all need to keep pulling together and working hard. No one's said it yet, but I think we all believe we can go somewhere."[LNB]
