Lorik Cana is fast becoming a Wearside cult hero. His hard working, combative performances in the middle of the park have helped endear him to the Sunderland faithful. With battling displays and partisan-like ‘dying for the cause’ determination he has truly set himself apart from his peers and it is this spirit and true grit I’d like to think each and every Sunderland player strive to emulate.

If you already hold the man in high regard, he will no doubt go up in your estimations after reading his comments from a recent interview.

Whilst talking about his private life Lorik Cana burst into a passionate heart-felt speech about how he feels the Sunderland team should be playing, Cana exclaimed:

“If Sunderland were an army going into battle, the biggest quality for this team, especially for the North-east, is the heart. We play with passion and we attack very well.

“My biggest quality is that I play with the heart. My determination and enthusiasm have helped me to succeed.

“English players are very good at that and you can see now that in the Premier League there are a lot of foreign players who bring in their own qualities but must try to take this mentality and become a better player.

“By mentality, I mean passion and trying to instil the fighting spirit – all those kind of things which are the characteristics of English football.”

Cana continued:

“Passion is something I experienced at Marseille and a fighting spirit is something I had when I started playing football, but the most important thing is to bring it to every game you play and to always give the best of what you have. Sometimes players have a lot of other qualities but maybe not so much heart or spirit. For me, this is the biggest part of my play.”

“That is why I try to keep it and show it all the time. That is what I expect from everyone.”

“With Sunderland you have a club who won many titles in the early part of their history but since then had problems fighting relegation and so on.

“The most important thing now is to change the mentality of the club and everyone in the city.

“This is a new era and the first actors are the players. We have a new manager and new players and that gives everyone the confidence to do well. A month ago we met the [Sunderland] team that won the FA Cup in 1973 and they told me a lot about the club.

“ This is a big club that hasn’t been successful enough for the last 30 years, but I know the history of the club and of a lot of the clubs in England. You have many clubs over here with a great past and Sunderland are certainly one of them. I want to be part of a team that can match the great Sunderland sides of the past.”

Sunderland have made great strides in the past few years and after further investment in the close season have improved considerably since last term. If we continue to progress at the rate we are and play with the mentality Steve Bruce and Lorik Cana are trying to instil at the club then we have a lot to be excited about.

Get in Lorik, let’s get back to winning ways against Fulham tomorrow, Haway the lads!