The Black Cats' 0-0 draw at Swansea on Saturday means they have yet to pick up a win this season, and it came on the back of the disappointing Carling Cup exit against Brighton and a derby defeat against Newcastle. The slow start to the campaign has seen Bruce come under pressure, with expectations on Wearside having been raised by a busy summer in the transfer market which has already yielded 10 new recruits. But Bruce felt his side, who saw Asamoah Gyan fail to convert their best chance and John O'Shea hit the bar, were unfortunate not to pick up a win in south Wales. And he is hopeful of bringing in a striker before the transfer window closes on Wednesday to give some "spark" to the Black Cats. Asked about criticism of his team's start, Bruce said: "We lost the derby game, it's what it is unfortunately. Some of the press have started a frenzy and if you are not careful it engulfs you. "We must win a match. We have Chelsea at home next, can that be the turning point of our season?" Bruce also asked for his side to be given time for their new arrivals to bed in at the Stadium of Light. He added: "Remember we had four loan players last season to help because we didn't have the biggest of squads and we have lost Jordan Henderson and Darren Bent. "So we needed to make big, big changes and they need time, and I know we are very close to having a really decent squad. "Some of our football against Swansea was excellent, we just made the wrong decision in the vital part and when you haven't scored and you have lost the derby game people become anxious. "All of a sudden I detect a feeling that we have the divine right to come here and turn Swansea over, it doesn't work like that." Bruce would not be drawn on speculation linking him with a move for Tottenham striker Peter Crouch, but is hopeful he will be able to bolster his attack before the window closes. He said: "We might just bring somebody in to give us a spark and we will be off and running. "We always knew that (Connor) Wickham is one for the future. He is an 18-year-old boy playing in the Premier League week in and week out. "Probably in the last 10 years there has only been Wayne Rooney doing that. We have to protect him, and we knew that would be the case. "We hope we can bring something to fruition, we have one or two things in the fire so we will see what we can do." Swansea also await their first win of the season, as well as a first goal, as they failed to take a raft of good chances in a game they had the upper hand in after a quiet start. Record signing Danny Graham was guilty of a glaring miss as he headed wide when unmarked from less than 12 yards out, with the former Watford man also forcing two fine saves from Simon Mignolet and Scott Sinclair hitting the bar with a thunderous effort. Brendan Rodgers, who hopes to bring defensive and midfield reinforcements in ahead of Wednesday's transfer deadline, has been "pleasantly surprised" by how well his side have made the step up to the top flight. "The players have shown they can compete against a side that will probably end up in the top 10," he said. "I feel we will improve as the season goes on. We have been complete as a team defensively and we are ready to fight. We have shown we can hold our own."
