Sebastian Larsson has stated that he and his Sunderland side were relieved to get their first win of the season against Stoke on Sunday, and wants the team to continue this form.
The Swedish midfielder scored one of the goals in a 4-0 win, and put in a man-of-the-match performance in The Black Cats victory.
“It is a massive win because you don’t stop hearing about it, getting that first win,” he told Sky Sports.
“We had slipped down the league a little bit and you never want to be there, so it’s nice to get the first three points and hopefully that can really get us flying for the forthcoming games now.”
Meanwhile, Steve Bruce has explained his decision to leave club captain Lee Cattermole out of his starting XI at the weekend.
Despite being the club’s captain, the midfielder found himself on the bench for the clash with The Potters, but Bruce has given his reasons for playing David Vaughan instead.
“Lee Cattermole is another one who has been in and out and had two or three serious injuries. I am a big believer – and I have been in it a long, long time – that you don’t really get that back until you have been back as long as you have been out.
“It’s normal. It’s because they have had serious injuries which take them time [to get over]. The more they train and they play, they get better and better.
“They need games, and Lee certainly comes into that category. Nobody epitomises what I like about a footballer more than my captain, but at the moment, it’s not going too well for him, so we gave somebody else a go in David Vaughan.
“He brought that little bit of composure we were looking for and had a wonderful debut,” Bruce concluded.
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