Landing targets is a real concern

Feb 28 2010 by James Hunter, Sunday Sun

STEVE BRUCE has admitted that bringing big names to Sunderland has proved tougher than he thought – despite the deep pockets of billionaire owner Ellis Short.

Bruce missed out on Portsmouth’s England striker Peter Crouch and Man City’s Republic of Ireland centre-back Richard Dunne in the summer, with Crouch and Dunne choosing switches to Spurs and Aston Villa instead ahead of Wearside, even though the Black Cats matched the money on offer at rival clubs.

“Even with money, it’s not easy,” says Bruce. “We tried to get Peter Crouch and Richard Dunne here last summer and we matched the money they were offered elsewhere, but sometimes it’s not just about the money – sometimes you can’t get them even if you’ve got the money.

“We were very, very close to getting them both but they went elsewhere.

“To be fair to the owner, he has spent a few quid.

“There’s no denying that, but even money isn’t the be-all and end-all sometimes.”

Short’s backing of Bruce in the transfer market is not in question, with the likes of Darren Bent, Lee Cattermole and Michael Turner all joining Sunderland in the close season.

But Bruce knows he will have to continue his squad revamp in the summer if he is to strengthen and avoid the kind of mid-season dip that Sunderland have suffered in the current campaign.

He said: “It’s a bigger rebuilding job than I thought and it can’t just happen overnight.

“It’s one problem with the system we have got in the Premier League.

“In the Championship, you can turn players over – you can let someone go out on loan and bring someone else in on loan yourself.