The Black Cats took their tally to 23 points from 16 Premier League games with a 1-0 home win over West Ham to leave themselves in seventh place in the table, the position in which they finished in successive campaigns under former boss Peter Reid a decade ago. Bruce is now looking for a similar return from the next 16 games to give the club the best possible chance of claiming a top-10 finish for the first time since they returned to the top flight four years ago. He said: "Nothing has changed since I came here 18 months ago. We are seventh going into the Christmas period. "I have always said, we have got to stop being a yo-yo club - that was my immediate aim - and if we can get ourselves into the top 10... "Our immediate aim is to go and mirror what we have just done, take 20-odd points from the next 16 games, and that would set us up very nicely for what should be a nice spring." Sunderland secured their latest victory courtesy of 20-year-old England international Jordan Henderson's first goal of the season. They enjoyed much the better of the first half and deservedly took the lead with 34 minutes gone when the midfielder guided Asamoah Gyan's cross past goalkeeper Robert Green. But the Hammers responded after the break and with Scott Parker leading the fightback, they might have dragged themselves back into it. Carlton Cole fired inches past the post with a 49th-minute shot on the turn, and Victor Obinna struck the outside of the post with 11 minutes remaining as home nerves jangled. However, despite Danny Welbeck passing up a glorious opportunity to make sure of the win five minutes from time, the Black Cats held out. They are yet to lose a league game at the Stadium of Light this season, and the extension of that record was due in part to the bravery of central defender John Mensah, who played once again nursing the shoulder he dislocated last month. Bruce said: "To play like he did again and to put himself on the line with his shoulder is quite remarkable really. "There are only special players like him can do it. He is playing with a protective harness, but still when he goes over and he gets a bash on it, he is in pain." For Hammers boss Avram Grant, the pain was psychological as his side's promising run came to a close, although he was far from downhearted. He said: "In the last 12 games, we have lost four, so if we have this record all season, we will stay in the league. "We are looking at the difference between us and even 15th place or 14th place - 14th place is, I think, around six points and we are three points from 17th place, so that's what we are looking at."
