The former Manchester United defender could scarcely believe it as he reached his personal landmark on Friday, although preparations for Saturday's clash with Blackburn were his overwhelming focus. Bruce's young side has enjoyed a fine first half of the season with a stunning 3-0 victory at Chelsea just about cancelling out the memories of an horrific 5-1 derby defeat at Newcastle. But for a shock 2-0 home defeat by Blackpool on Tuesday, the Black Cats could have been in an even healthier position, and Bruce is hoping for more of the same in 2011. He said: "We could have been because we had a magnificent chance against Blackpool, and anybody witnessing the game would have said how the hell have we not won that? "But we didn't. It could have got us into a fabulous position - 30 points going into the New Year's Day fixture would have been a fantastic achievement. "If you can double that, if you can do exactly the same in the second half and get to 60 points, you are there or thereabouts to be where we are at the moment in the league, usually anyway. "That's the challenge to us now - can we go and repeat it?" If they do, Sunderland could quite easily find themselves in the mix in the hunt for European qualification, something they have never before achieved via the league. But despite amassing 27 points to date, Bruce knows they cannot afford to let up with the table unusually tight this season. He said: "The bottom 10 are separated by something like four or five points now, which is quite remarkable. Usually, you have one or two adrift at this point and you think they have a lot to do. "At the moment, there's nobody adrift. Teams like Wigan and Wolves and Blackpool and, to be fair, us have all improved significantly, so I don't think the big boys now have it quite their own way like they have had in the past. "The domination of the top teams in particular, like Chelsea and Manchester United, has been immense in the past. It's not there any more." Little wonder, then, that the pressure on Premier League managers seems to grow by the week, a fact which did not go unnoticed by Bruce on his birthday. He said with a smile: "Eighteen months ago, I looked fresh-faced and ready for the challenge. "Coming back to the north-east, we have had the worst two winters in history and it's aged me enormously. "After witnessing the chances we missed the other day... never mind." Blackburn will present an entirely different proposition to Blackpool, although Bruce will head into the game still struggling to process the fact that old friend Sam Allardyce is no longer at the helm. He said: "It doesn't make sense in football at times. "Who would have thought that Sam would have lost his job, and his assistant - and no disrespect to Steve Kean, you give it to a rookie and give him until the end of the season? "I just can't see the logic in that one bit. But then again, nothing surprises me any more." Sunderland are likely to be without the injured Nedum Onuoha, while Lee Cattermole and Asamoah Gyan are both doubts, although Titus Bramble could start for the first time since his return from a long-term knee problem. Meanwhile, Paraguay international defender Paulo Da Silva is understood to have rejected the chance to join Mexican club Cruz Azul for £1.5million despite struggling to force his way into the picture on Wearside.
