Bruce ready for Darren Bent bid

Jul 26 2009 by Luke Edwards, Sunday Sun

It is why he believes the time was right for him to take on a job as big as the one he has been given at Sunderland.

He said: “It is the right time for me. I have done it for 10 years. I found it very difficult in my younger days. To start with I was a little bit naive and wet behind the ears.

“In my first job at Sheffield United I had six chief executives in a year. That gives you some idea of what that first job was like.

“At Huddersfield, I got them top of the league and the owner decided that he had had enough and wanted his money back. But it was a learning curve.

“Now I have had eight years in the Premier League. The time is right for me now. The more experience you get the better you become.

“My challenge now is to show that I have learned from those past experiences and am ready to take Sunderland to a new level in the Premier League.”

It is a level he felt he would never reach at Wigan, who were forced to sell their best players almost as quickly as Bruce managed to sign them.

He added: “I just hope I can create a side at Sunderland as good as my Wigan team. If I can do that the place will lift off because it was some team. The infrastructure, the training ground, the crowd are all here at Sunderland.”

l SUNDERLAND’s reserves were fortunate to come away from Oldham with a 2-1 victory after being outplayed for most of the game. Adam Reed and David Dowson gave the Black Cats the lead before Pawel Abbott’s penalty.