Not-so-trusty Steed leaves Bruce men as also-rans

STEVE BRUCE is desperately hoping Steed Malbranque will rediscover the goalscoring form he showed in his Fulham and Tottenham days to help Sunderland through their injury crisis.

The 31-year-old was brought to the Stadium of Light by former manager Roy Keane in the summer of 2008 after making his name in the Premier League as a goalscoring midfielder.

But in the three seasons since Malbranque has managed only one Premier League goal — in a 4-1 win over Hull in December 2008 — and was one of the players guilty of missing golden chances on Saturday.