Source: Northern_Echo
Turner’s warning to Cats
SUNDERLAND defender Michael Turner has urged his team-mates to take more responsibility on their travels if they are to escape the wrath of manager Steve Bruce.[LNB] The Black Cats boss has warned he will make changes to his squad in January should his players not find consistency.[LNB] Bruce accused some players of lacking mental toughness after the club's latest disappointment away from the Stadium of Light, a 1-0 loss at Wigan.[LNB] The defeat and performance has been endemic in Sunderland's campaign, where the Black Cats have performed well on home territory before undoing all their good work on their travels.[LNB] One win in 17 Premier League fixtures away from home is not the form of a team making progress.[LNB] Turner believes one reason behind the team's inconsistency could lie with the large influx of players who arrived at the club in the summer.[LNB] The former Hull City defender pointed out that the new arrivals are still learning about each other.[LNB] Of course it's not going to happen overnight. There's been a lot of players brought in to the club and obviously with the new management setup, said Turner.[LNB] It will take time for things to be where he (Bruce) wants them to be, that's for sure.[LNB] The home form has been superb, you can't complain about that. But it's just the inconsistency of the away form.[LNB] We feel we're capable of putting it right and I'm sure we will as the season goes on.[LNB] I'm confident that we'll start picking points up away, and obviously if we can keep the home form up then we'll be in a healthy position come the end of the season.[LNB] It always does take time to bed in, you have to find partnerships all over the pitch and I'm sure the manager hasn't yet settled on his strongest side. But it's just up to us players to start putting in the performances and start winning away, simple as that.[LNB] Football's all about the team game, and it takes a massive team effort if you want to win a game of football.[LNB] The Black Cats centre half and his team-mates have a great chance to prove to their manager they do have the right mentality when they visit Fulham this weekend.[LNB] The Cottagers, like Sunderland last term, struggled to preserve their top flight status the season before last. But the following year Roy Hodgson's west Londoners finished seventh in the Premier League, enough to win a place in the new Europa League.[LNB] It's another chance for us to put it right, said the 26- year-old defender. It's going to be another tough game we know that, and it's down to us to put in a performance and turn the corner a little bit on the away form.[LNB] They had a great season last year and it just shows that you can get up there.[LNB] And they've had great home form in recent times and it will be tough going down there so we need to put in a performance if we want to take anything from the game.[LNB] Kenwyne Jones limped out of Sunderland's reserve fixture at Eppleton CW against Wigan's second string on Tuesday night. But Bruce confirmed it was nothing more than a dead leg and should be available for Sunday's clash at Fulham.[LNB]
