Mart made Gardner ‘man up’
Modest
CRAIG GARDNER admits he had to ‘man up’ as his homesickness almost wrecked his move to Sunderland.
The midfielder struggled to adjust to life in the North-East following his £6million switch from Birmingham last summer.
He has revealed he couldn’t wait to get back to the Midlands as often as possible during the frustrating first few months.
And it took the arrival of Martin O’Neill to revive his career after former boss Steve Bruce had been sacked.
Gardner said: “When I first came here my head wasn’t in the right place.
“I just wanted to finish training and get home. That was me missing home really, but I had to man up.
“Martin came in and I’ve known him about seven years now, and that helps.
“I know what he wants in the changing room and on the pitch and hopefully I can give that to him.”
Gardner arrived as an out-and-out midfielder – but he has been forced to fill in at full-back since O’Neill arrived.
But the player insists he is happy to slot in anywhere for the benefit of the team.
He added: “If you’re in the starting eleven then you should be happy with that.
“Why should we moan about playing in a different position when they’re prepared to pay to watch us play?”
Sunderland have made a modest start to the campaign with two points in the opening two games.
But after the arrival of a number of new faces, including ex-Man City star Adam Johnson, Gardner is adamant they should soon start shooting up the table.
He added: “It’s competition all over the pitch, if it wasn’t we wouldn’t be competing for the top eight.”
O’Neill has called on midfield hardman Lee Cattermole to commit himself to the Black Cats by signing a new contract.
The ex-Aston Villa boss wants the 24-yearold to pledge his long-term future to the Stadium of Light as he could walk away as a free agent next summer.
“Cattermole has been excellent since I came here,” O’Neill said.
“He is the captain but he needs to keep his discipline better. I do not want to build him up too much – as he has a contract to sign here.”