Source: Telegraph
Sunderland's Lorik Cana calls for consistency in bid to land European place
The Albanian international midfielder said Sunderland must look to emulate Chelsea's 'balance' after his team had blown the chance to move into one of the Premier League's European slots last weekend. [LNB]A week after beating Arsenal 1-0, Steve Bruce's side lost by the same scoreline at Wigan and now Cana has joined his manager in calling for his team-mates to end the inconsistency that is undermining their efforts to move into the Premier League's upper echelons. [LNB] Related ArticlesMan arrested over Bent claimPolice investigate Bent racism claimWigan Athletic 1 Sunderland 0Racist Sunderland fan insults Bent's motherSunderland will get the chance to make up for the disappointment of losing at Wigan when they travel to Fulham on Sunday and Cana will draw inspiration from the Craven Cottage's club's Stamford Bridge neighbours. [LNB]'I saw something interesting that was said by (Chelsea manager) Carlo Ancelotti on Monday - he said that the most important thing to a team is balance and I think that is exactly right,' Cana said. [LNB]'At Sunderland, we do not have that yet in some away games. We have sometimes had a lot of problems doing that in away games. [LNB]'What is the balance? For me, we need to work harder. When you are in good moments and are on the attack, you should do that as well as you can but in the difficult moments of the game you need to work together and work hard on the defensive part as well. [LNB]'They are a good example for Sunderland to follow. We might now be of a similar level to Chelsea but if we can try to take this part of Chelsea's game and do that on the pitch it is good.'[LNB]Cana continued: 'It is my duty as captain to put it right and to bring my experience and mentality for these games [LNB]'We have qualities, we have good players and we are in a good place in the league. But the rest of the teams above us are pulling away, we do not have too much time to get it right. [LNB]'As a midfield player, you have to try and keep everybody involved and everyone concerned about keeping the right balance between attack and defence.'[LNB]Cana, who joined Sunderland from Marseille in a £5-million deal last summer, has seen enough of Chelsea to believe they will regain the Premier League crown from Manchester United this season as well as the Champions League. [LNB]'Chelsea is definitely the best team we have played this season,' the former Marseille skipper added. [LNB]'The most important thing is that they have top players with a lot of experienced internationals. They have played for two or three years together and that is really important. [LNB]'They have strong players who are very physical and all these players are producing their best football at the moment. Plus they have a fantastic coach. It is not easy to come from another country whether you are a player or a manager and to have these results in your first year. [LNB]'For me they are the favourites to be champions and why not to win the Champions League as well. I think the only team that are better than Barcelona is Chelsea.'[LNB]This week, though, Cana, 26, is concentrating on making sure there is no repeat of the Wigan defeat. [LNB]'We know we are better than that and it is why we are frustrated,' he said. 'We have had a lot of opportunities in the past maybe to have six points more. It's about what more we can do. [LNB]'There is a big difference between our home and away performances and it is important that we find a solution for that. It is about mentality. Each player has to bring a little bit more to the pitch to improve our performance levels away from home.'[LNB]During his Marseille days, his club excelled both at the Stade Velodrome and on the road. [LNB]'Yes, we were good at home and away and I will try to bring that experience to Sunderland and help to put it right,' Cana concluded. [LNB]"It's not the same league but with Marseille I lost maybe two or three times away from home the entire time I was there. It was something fantastic. [LNB]"It is different here. Every time you play away, the home time tries really, really hard to put pressure on you from the first whistle. We must find a solution for these sorts of games. [LNB]"I don't think we are far away from being right - I don't think it will be too hard to start winning games away from home - but we need a solution and we need a solution as soon as possible. Why not this weekend? [LNB]"It is a mental thing and it is also about confidence. We have a lot of confidence as a team and in each other but we have to show that in every game, though. [LNB]"Sometimes we are afraid and we don't try to play. I don't know why because you look at the last game against Wigan and we have better quality than them but we didn't show it. We should do better than we did. So I think the answer is to play with confidence, the right mentality and to have that balance back.'[LNB]
