Sunderland 1 Bolton Wanderers 0:STEVE BRUCE never sends emails, barely knows how to text and thinks Twitter is something birds do. This does not mean Sunderland's manager is old fashioned, he just believes the importance of talking to people has become increasingly underestimated.

Most footballers are such complex mixes of confidence and insecurity that to thrive, they require plenty of private chats with the manager. Variously reprimanded, reassured and reinvigorated by Bruce, Anton Ferdinand is a case in point.

There was a time when the centre half looked to be on his way out of the club but watching Ferdinand make block after vital block while keeping Kevin Davies at bay on Saturday, it has become apparent the manager’s message has finally got through.

Despite losing Titus Bramble, Michael Turner and John Mensah to injury, Sunderland have kept nine clean sheets in the league; more than any other side. Although prone to slips away from home, they are undefeated against last season’s top 10.

Small wonder Bruce is talking about his sixth-placed ensemble hosting “fantastic European nights” next autumn.

No longer fragile at the back, their weakness is a misplaced belief that working harder and running further compensates for invention. Similarly while Bruce’s three strikers, Asamoah Gyan, Darren Bent and Danny Welbeck, at times petrified Bolton with their movement and capacity to morph from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2 and back again, the trio do not always look comfortable in each other’s attacking company.

Superbly as he combined with Welbeck for the decider, the Manchester United loanee’s exciting emergence has, paradoxically, cramped Bent’s style.

As good a striker as Welbeck undoubtedly is – and he has scored five goals in his last six appearances – he is no left-winger.

Guardian Service