Bruce buoyant after beating Bolton

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce could not hide his joy after his side were 1-0 winners over Bolton on Saturday.

Manchester United loanee Danny Welbeck’s first-half header separated the two in-form sides as Sunderland jumped into the top six of the Premier League table on the back of a third consecutive clean sheet.

“The result was brilliant for us,” Bruce told Sky Sports.

“It just shows you that with a bit of resilience we’ve managed to keep a clean sheet, which I believe we have more of than anybody else now.”

The result will have the Sunderland fans dreaming of Europe, but Bruce said it is important for his side to remain focused.

“We’ve had a good start. I believe we’ve got a good squad of decent young players with a great spirit and if we can stay injury-free then who knows?” he said.

“It would be fantastic to see this club play in Europe, but we’ve got to dampen expectations and keep our feet on the floor.”

Bruce was delighted with Welbeck, dubbing the striker an ‘exciting prospect’ after his fifth goal of the season while he also heaped praise on goalkeeper Craig Gordon who made an outstanding close-range save to deny Zat Knight on the stroke of half-time.

“It was a fantastic save and he’s starting to play again. Let’s hope he stays injury-free because he’s a fantastic goalkeeper,” Bruce said.

His opposite number, Bolton manager Owen Coyle, said his side did not deserve to lose the match.

Bolton had several good opportunities throughout the game and should have equalised in the dying stages when Ivan Klasnic wasted a great opportunity, but Coyle insisted his side deserved a point.

“The way we came out (in the) second half we put Sunderland under pressure for the last 25 minutes,” Coyle said.

“I’m not claiming we deserved to win but I don’t think we deserved to lose the game. I think again today that we’ve showed that we are a decent team.”

Bolton sit seventh on the Premier League table in a start that has surprised many and Coyle said he is hoping to add to his squad in the January transfer window to help boost his side’s charge for a European spot.

“It would be nice to try and freshen up, help the group we’ve got but again with the right ability, the right type of player, the right character to come into that dressing room,” he said.

“I’ve got my eye on one or two so if it’s a viable option we will address those in January. What January holds, time will tell.”