Points the ideal Christmas present

IT’S 10 days since we left the Stadium of Light deflated after dominating the Newcastle match, but only getting a point, yet the mood around Wearside going into this weekend’s fixture at Everton is one of optimism.

We’ve not gone soft — the Toffees are a shrewd outfit under David Moyes, and anything more than a point would be a bonus.

Having seen us take hold of games like our last outing, against an average mid-table side, it’s much easier to pick out upcoming matches and see where we are going to tally up the points we require for survival.

After our trip to Goodison Park, we have fixtures against Derby, Reading and Bolton between now and the opening of the transfer window.

Picking up points against all of these teams is vital if we are to pull away from the drop zone.

However, any return from the games against Manchester United and Chelsea, who we also play over the next month or so, would be a bonus.

Once the transfer window reopens we’ll probably see the most important 31 days of Roy Keane’s managerial career to date. The first priority will be a new right back. Greg Halford has been one of Keane’s least successful signings to date.

Unfortunately, he’s a player who looked good in the Championship with Colchester, but has struggled to shine in the Premier League with both ourselves and Reading.

He got off to a bad start on Wearside and got steadily worse, to the point where he even looked uneasy at Falkirk in a friendly last week and has admitted himself he’s devoid of confidence.

Whether we go for youth or experience at full-back is irrelevant, what we need to do is invest in ability rather than promise, which we failed to do in the summer. Sunderland fans don’t just want a good side in five years time, we want a team that can survive now.

To do this we’ll also need an experienced centre back. I’m convinced that a leader at the back will also help out the much-maligned Craig Gordon in goal.

One plus out of the Falkirk friendly was the return of Dean Whitehead. Roy Keane has spoken of the importance of signing a player who can tackle, pass and lead in the centre of the park.

Whitehead provides this, and his re-introduction to the side will be like a new signing. Hopefully he should provide everything we’re currently lacking in that area, which will save us a lot of money in the transfer window.

The return from injury of Carlos Edwards on the right wing is a big boost and gives us more balance. It allows us to attack from the flanks instead of playing the long ball game to Kenwyne Jones which we had resorted to recently. Hopefully we can get a bit more out of our fox in the box, Michael Chopra, whose goals have dried up of late. But we still need to bring in a quality striker to strengthen our front line.

My tips to leave either permanently or on loan come the window are Daryl Murphy, Stanislav Varga and David Connolly.

The two Irish forwards were fantastic last season, but are good Championship players and need to move on for the sake of their own careers.

Varga was too slow last season, and after recovering from a major injury at the beginning of this term and at his age, will need another club at a level with a slower pace to make sure he’s a regular first teamer.

He’s still a good passer of the ball and strong in the air, but his lack of pace means he’s too slow for the top tier.

Things are looking up, though. Key players are on their way back to full fitness, and we’re hopefully on our way to a couple of much needed wins.

If things go our way, and we pick up the points we are capable of against those around us, we could look quite comfortable by Christmas.

That would be the best present that Santa could bring us.