Source: Northern_Echo
"We are still going places"
STEVE BRUCE insists he is happy to wait until the summer to replace Darren Bent and believes new signings Sulley Muntari and Stephane Sessegnon show that the club's ambitions have not changed.[LNB] In comparison to rivals Newcastle, it was a pretty quiet deadline day for the Wearsiders, which saw midfielder Andy Reid depart for Blackpool and Paulo da Silva join Spanish side Real Zaragoza for undisclosed fees.[LNB] With Danny Welbeck and Fraizer Campbell sidelined through injury, Asamoah Gyan is the club's only fit striker but Bruce is confident his side can cope.[LNB] Despite not bringing in any forwards, Bruce has strengthened his squad with the acquisition of Muntari on loan from Inter Milan and Sessegnon from Paris St Germain for £6m.[LNB] The Black Cats boss admits it was a blow to lose Bent, who joined Aston Villa for £24m, but insists the signings he has made show the club still has a statement of intent to push for a top seven finish.[LNB] I am not going to paper over it. There has been no dispute that we have been hit by Darren Bent, he said.[LNB] But when you lose people like Reid and David Healy and replace them with Muntari and Sessegnon, that tells me we are still trying to go places.[LNB] We are all disappointed with Bent because we never saw it coming, but the club can benefit by me keeping the money for the summer, then trying to get the sort of centre- forward who would be a replacement for Bent.[LNB] I can't do that now. We must be patient. And I stress that because I could have brought in ten strikers, but I am thinking of the next four or five games we will be okay.[LNB] Where can I get people who are better than Welbeck and Campbell, and they will be fit in four or five weeks In that time we have only got three or four games to play and still got 12 games in the rest of the season.[LNB] Bruce welcomes Chelsea to the Stadium of Light tonight with Sessegnon available to make his debut, but Muntari is unavailable as the Ghanaian has returned to Italy to complete paperwork on his transfer.[LNB] Bolo Zenden misses out after suffering a knock to his knee in training.[LNB] Bruce also admitted both new signings have taken substantial wage cuts in order to sign for the club and believes both will excite fans.[LNB] To be fair to Muntari he has taken a drop in wages and if you look at his record, all he has ever wanted to do is play,[LNB] the boss said.[LNB] He wanted to do that this season but had a fall out with Rafael Benitez, so it is someone we have been monitoring.[LNB] He can score goals and pick the final pass. He is a top player, so to get him here is a statement.[LNB] Muntari's deal is with a view to a permanent move.[LNB] That is something we are trying to do, but short term was the most important thing.[LNB] I have never known a player of his quality to take that kind of substantial drop in wages. In this day and age that is quite refreshing. He could quite easily have stayed at Inter and picked up his wages.[LNB] It is the same with Sessegnon.[LNB] He is a player who will light up the stadium. We know Muntari will light up the Premier League because he has been here before, whereas it is a gamble with Sessegnon.[LNB] Physically, even though he is not that big, he still has the wow factor. We have been looking at him for weeks, because there had been a fall out again.[LNB] When we lost Bent we went out to make it happen, because he can play on the left, right or off the front man.[LNB] His versatility is useful.[LNB] Meanwhile, Bruce insisted young midfielder Jordan Henderson will be staying at the club, despite several clubs monitoring the England international's progress.[LNB] The 20-year-old has attracted the attention of Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal, but the Black Cats boss is adamant the Sunderland- born midfielder will stay on Wearside, at least for the next few years.[LNB] He is only 20. It is inevitable that one day he will play for one of the Premier League giants in this country but at this particular moment he agrees that for the next couple of years he will stay,[LNB] Bruce revealed.[LNB] We have seen lots of times people move too early and it does not happen for them. He is mindful of that and intelligent enough to realise that.[LNB] Will he be here in four or five years That depends on us. Can we keep moving forward in the top half of the table If we are in the bottom then no, but if we can progress then who knows[LNB]
