Gus Poyet wants no more suffering for Sunderland in Premier League

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/aug/15/sunderland-gus-poyet-premier-league-fabio-borini

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Gus Poyet’s pre-season mantra at Sunderland has been: “No more suffering.” After the team’s narrow escapes from relegation in the past two campaigns he has pledged to end the pain.

Poyet presided over the second “miracle” in May and wants no repeats. “No more miracles and no more suffering,” said Sunderland’s manager before Saturday’s trip to West Brom. “I don’t want to suffer any more. I have never had a season like last season, not as a player and not as a coach, and I don’t want another. I can tell you that for the first two days of my holiday I don’t know if I moved at all. It had been very hard; I suffered a lot last year.”

For the moment the Uruguayan is enduring a few more agonies while he waits to see whether Fabio Borini, a hit as a loanee on Wearside last season, will go along with the £14m permanent transfer to the Stadium of Light agreed between Sunderland and Liverpool some weeks ago.

“It’s not that Borini doesn’t want to come,” Poyet said. “I have talked to him and things are clear but I can’t tell you everything because it’s not fair on everybody. Please trust me. It’s impossible to say it will happen tomorrow, Monday or the 31st of the month.”

Poyet, who stressed he is hoping to keep his much-admired England Under-21 striker Connor Wickham, is relieved to have at least got this summer’s statement acquisition, Jack Rodwell, settled in following his £10m move from Manchester City

“I’m really excited by Jack Rodwell,” he said. “Like any other player that hasn’t been playing too much, he maybe needs a bit of time. He is going to get better and better but we have to make sure we look after him. It’s important to know when he needs a rest and make sure he is the midfielder with the power, the ability to create, the presence, the ability to arrive in the box that we missed a lot last year.”

Sunderland also missed Steven Fletcher as their Scotland striker spent most of the last campaign sidelined by assorted injuries but Poyet is optimistic this term will be different. “I hope Fletch will be like a new signing,” he said. “I think it’s probably the best he’s been physically for the past three or four years. The conditions are perfect for him to go and perform.”