Bruce not worried by Cats struggles

Bruce enjoyed a hugely encouraging start to his tenure on Wearside, amassing 20 Premier League points from the first 39 on offer - a return which included famous home victories over both Liverpool and Arsenal. However, injuries and suspensions have decimated Bruce's squad since then and just three points from the last nine games leaves the Black Cats just three points clear of the drop zone ahead of Monday's home clash with Stoke. Bruce admits it has been a testing period, but he is convinced his team's fortunes will improve once he has a full squad to choose from. He said: "It's been the toughest, yes, but it's part and parcel of it. I could make excuses all day long of what the problems are - the simple fact is we need to get people fit. "Once we do that and I can get my big players fit, we will be all right. Please believe me, we will be all right. "But until then, and until I can get a settled back four in particular, we are always going to find it a little bit difficult. "When you are on a run like we are, you have to come out of it quickly." The visits of Stoke and Wigan to the Stadium of Light in the space of six days this week represents an opportunity to redress the balance, but Bruce knows Sunderland can take nothing for granted. Just as he was not getting carried away by the successes of the opening months of the campaign, he is refusing to allow the current run to sow any seeds of doubt. He said: "I don't really feel the pressure - I always think 'pressure' is an over-used word. You know the job you are in. "I always tried to quell the expectation, I always tried to say to people, 'Listen, we have just been out of the Championship two years, we have been in the bottom five for two years, so it's going to take a big turnaround, it is going to take time before we get ourselves established'. "You always try to go down that route. It's not very easy and of course with a club like ours when you get off to a great start, the expectation goes through the roof. "Please believe what I am saying to you - if we had stayed injury-free, I think we had a possibility of carrying it on. "But it wasn't to be. We have had our big players missing, injured or suspended, for weeks and we have suffered, so we must try to get them back." Bruce is hopeful that Turner, Cattermole and Phil Bardsley can shake off injuries to take their places in the starting line-up for two games he believes could have a major say in the outcome of the entire campaign. He said: "It can define our season - if we can win the pair of them, then we can look to try to catch Everton or Birmingham or Fulham; if we don't, then we know what's in store. "We have been here before - the club, over the last couple of years, has been in the bottom five, so we are not immune to it. "We will have to get on with it and hope we get the result."