Bruce demands more from Cats

Published Apr. 11, 2011 9:15 a.m. ET

foxsports

The Black Cats find themselves in the midst of a dreadful run which has seen them take just a single point from their last eight games and slip from sixth place and the fringes of the race for Europe, to 13th and the outer reaches of the desperate battle against relegation. They were fortunate that other results went their way on Saturday with Wolves, Wigan and West Ham all losing to leave them still six points clear of the drop zone, but with injuries a recurring theme - John Mensah, Kieran Richardson and Anton Ferdinand all limped out of Saturday's game - life is far from comfortable for manager Bruce. He said: "We need a result, but to play for this club and to work here, you need a big mentality, we have said it before, and we need it more than ever now. "We need to stand up and be counted and make sure we do more than what we are doing at the moment. "It's a crying shame what has happened, the last eight games compared to the previous 24, where we had given ourselves a chance to go and play in Europe. "But that's the Premier League, it's our turn. We have to try to get out of it like everybody else does." That was a sentiment shared by Saturday's goalscorer Phil Bardsley, who was even more frank in his assessment of what is required. The full-back said: "It's about time some of them stood up and be men. We are all in it together. "It's not like boxing or golf or other singles sports, it's a team game and it's about time we all came together for the last six games of the season and had a go."