Steve Bruce: We blew our chance

Feb 21 2010 by James Hunter, Sunday Sun

“When you come to Arsenal, you don’t get many chances – whether you are a Man Utd or a Chelsea or whoever – so when you get two or three like we did, you have to take one.

Sunderland have now failed to win in 13 league games, dating back three months to their 1-0 victory over Arsenal on Wearside in November, and that run has seen the Wearsiders slip from a comfortable top 10 slot to within just three points of the relegation zone.

“It’s been a frustrating time,” Bruce admitted.

“If anyone had said to me after we beat Arsenal in November that we wouldn’t win a game between then and when we played Arsenal again in February, I wouldn’t have believed them.

“But we feel as though the world is against us at the moment. This is the worst run I’ve had as a manager.

“But in six of these 13 games we have drawn, we’ve conceded late goals in four games and that would have given us an extra eight points which would have made a big difference.

“Now, if Aston Villa win their FA Cup replay this week [which would see Sunderland’s away game at Villa Park a week on Saturday postponed] we will have four home games on the spin against Fulham, Bolton, Man City and Birmingham and they will define our season.

“If we can keep our players fit, we’ve got enough to make sure we can finish off the season in a respectable position.”