Bruce threatens a long walk home.Byline: JAMES HUNTER Dr James Hunter CBE (Born 1948) is currently Director for the UHI Centre for History, Chairman of the Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust and vice Chairman of Highland 2007 and formerly the Chairman of Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Inverness-based development and training agency STEVE BRUCE  The of this article or section may be compromised by "weasel words".You can help Wikipedia by removing weasel words. has threatened to let his players walk home if they flop against shellshocked Wigan Wigan (wĭg`ən), city (1991 pop. 88,725) and metropolitan district, N England, located in the Manchester metropolitan area on the Douglas River. next weekend. The Sunderland boss was delighted after seeing his side beat Arsenal 1-0 at the Stadium of Light. But he reminded his players they cannot afford to let their standards slip when they take on his old club, hammered 9-1 at Spurs yesterday. Bruce said: "I have just said to the players, if they do not perform at Wigan, I will kick their backsides and they can walk home! "That was the first thing I said to them when they came off the pitch on Saturday!" Bruce has repeatedly said he wants his side to improve its consistency, and believes his players are starting to show signs they are heeding his words, after just two poor performances in the opening 13 games of the season. Bruce added: "We are going into December and I can really only think of the second half at Burnley and the game at Birmingham - all the rest we have taken part in and done particularly well. "Two bad performances out of 13 games - we are starting to get a little bit of consistency, and that is what I have been after from day one." Sunderland's win against Arsenal means they have now beaten two of the so-called Big Four - Liverpool being their other victims - and drawn at Manchester United, with Chelsea the only one of the elite to have beaten the Black Cats this season. Bruce wants his players to take the next step and show they have the same winning mentality as the leading sides to establish themselves as a top-10 outfit. He said: "You have to have the mentality right in the Premier League. There has to be an air of invincibility Invincibility Great Boyg, the shapeless, unconquerable troll, representing the riddle of existence. [Nor. Drama: Ibsen Peer Gynt in Magill I, 722] about you. "Arsenal have it, Liverpool have it, Manchester United have it, Chelsea have it. "We have to start thinking along those lines. We have to establish ourselves as a Premier League force, a bit like a Spurs, an Aston Villa or a Man City. "We have to catapult catapult (kăt`əpŭlt'), mechanism used to throw missiles in ancient and medieval warfare. At first, catapults were specifically designed to shoot spears or other missiles at a low trajectory (see bow and arrow). ourselves into that group." Darren Bent's 71st-minute goal proved enough to see off Arsenal, but Bruce revealed the England man picked up a slight hamstring problem for his troubles. He added: "The major concern for me is Darren - he has a bit of a hamstring problem, or cramp, we are not sure which. "I still believe Arsenal are a fantastic football team with great players, they are young and athletic. "Whether they will win the title, I don't know, but they will certainly be there or thereabouts, that is for sure. "However, as I said at the start of the season, anyone who finishes above Chelsea will win the league. "They are the ones who pose the threat at the moment, although you are never going to write off Manchester United either." |
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