Gyan set for extended Sunderland bench duty

Published on: 27 October 2010

Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan is set to continue on the bench of Sunderland as coach Steve Bruce intends on sticking with his lone striker policy.

World Player of the Year nominee has been benched since his arrival at the English side with the boss preferring to start Darren Bent.

Bruce insists he will continue with his five-man midfield after admitting 4-4-2 is in danger of going out of fashion at the highest level.

Sunderland have played with three central midfielders, and Bent as a lone striker, in almost all their Premier League games this term.

This Sunday will be no different, with Bruce planning to go 4-5-1 in almost all Sunderland's away games, and many home games. It's a strategy which could potentially rub Sunderland fans up the wrong way, especially with Asamoah Gyan warming the substitutes' bench.

"Whatever you do, you can't be influenced by what other people think," Bruce told the Gazette. "If you're going to do it, stay true to your own beliefs.

"If you look at the top teams all around the world, and particularly in this country, you'll see that very rarely do they go with two up top any more.

"Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool – they all play with three central midfielders.

"They tend to play with one man playing off a striker, with someone lying deep and breaking out of midfield – you can say it is 4-5-1 or you can say it's 4-3-3.

"The main thing is that you have to shut down the space in the middle of midfield, and having three central midfielders helps you do that.

"You can't afford to play against big teams and give them good possession.

"For instance, when I was at Manchester United playing under Sir Alex Ferguson, we played 4-4-2 against Barcelona in a big game and got absolutely slaughtered.

"He almost never plays 4-4-2 now – only against teams they are expected to beat easily– and certainly never in a big game.

"And that's Manchester United you're talking about!" And the formation has paid dividends as the Black Cats head to Newcastle this weekend on the back of a seven-match unbeaten run, having kept three successive clean sheets.

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