Bramble relishing Wigan battle
Titus Bramble says Sunderland must avoid complacency when they take on his former club tomorrow.
The centre-half returns to Wigan Athletic's DW Stadium this weekend for the first time since his 1m move to Sunderland in the summer, determined to leave with all three points.
And he says the first step towards doing that, is to avoid any danger of taking the Latics lightly.
The Premier League minnows are among the favourites for relegation after a dreadful finish to last season – they were hammered 8-0 by Chelsea on the final day – and a poor start to this one, conceding 10 goals in two games to Blackpool and Chelsea, while failing to score themselves.
But Wigan go into their game against Sunderland on the back of a stunning 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur and Bramble says only fools would under-estimate them. Bramble said: "Looking back, Wigan have usually done OK at home – probably because a lot of the so-called bigger teams think they only have to turn up there to get the three points.
"I know that when I was playing there, you got the impression from the opposition that they were thinking: 'Well, it's only Wigan.'
"But that is a mistake – as a lot of teams have found out. We won't make that mistake though, I'm sure about that.
"And if we don't win, it won't be because we under-estimated them. We've trained hard all week and we will go there looking for the three points."
Bramble has fond memories of his time at a club which saw his career revived after a chequered spell on Tyneside with Newcastle United.
But regardless of the good times he enjoyed at Wigan, he'll be giving everything to heap further misery on them this weekend.
"Wigan had a tough start at home and we want to make it tougher," he said. "I spent three good years there and I still speak to some of the lads at Wigan.
"The fans were great to me and hopefully they will give me a decent reception tomorrow. But I'm just approaching it as any other game.
"Sunderland is my club now and that's all I care about."
Bramble joined Wigan in 2007 and helped the club avoid relegation by four points in his first season before playing an important role in the club's 11th-place finish under Steve Bruce – who left at the end of that season to take over at Sunderland – in 2009.
Last season was another struggle against the drop and the current campaign also looks like becoming a fight for survival.
Bramble says, though, that everyone at Wigan knows that challenge goes with the territory every time the club looks to retain its Premier League status.
He said: "It's always going to be a struggle for clubs like Wigan – it was a struggle for us there last season, to be honest.
"With a new manager coming in, it was a big change from when Steve Bruce was there and it's hard to hang on to your best players.
"Wigan are a good family club, but, because it is a rugby area, they get crowds of about 16-18,000 at home games.
"Any good player with ambition wants to play for a big club like Sunderland and play in front of 40-45,000 fans every week.
"I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they don't get relegated, but it will be tough because so many players have moved on."
Bramble goes to Wigan already on the verge of establishing himself as a respected member of Sunderland's remodelled squad and he says that he is pleased that his Newcastle past has not been held against him.
"From Day One, right from when we were at the airport heading out to Portugal in pre-season, the fans have been fantastic towards me," he said.
"As an ex-Geordie player, I didn't know what kind of response I might get when I played in the first game against Birmingham.
"But the fans were first-class and I am so grateful for that. Hopefully I am paying them back with my performances."
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Weather for Sunderland
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -2 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 1 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South
