Man on a mission

Published : May 17, 2014 00:00 IST

Connor Wickam scored twice in the 4-0 demolition of 10-man Cardiff which lifted Sunderland out of the English Premier League relegation zone. By Damian Spellman.

Connor Wickham will bear no grudges as he continues his one-man mission to fire Sunderland out of relegation trouble.

The 21-year-old striker paid off another sizeable portion of his GBP8.1 million transfer fee when he scored twice in the 4-0 demolition of 10-man Cardiff which lifted the Black Cats out of the English Premier League relegation zone.

That took Wickham’s tally to five league goals in six starts — all of them in the last three games — since his return from a loan spell at Championship side Leeds, a return which belatedly catapulted him into the affections of fans who had all but given up hope of top-flight survival.

However, far from flashing an “I told you so” message to his detractors, the England Under-21 international is concentrating solely on completing the job his heroics have made possible.

Wickham said: “I have said all the time, I just want to play football and if I play football...

“I played numerous games at (Sheffield) Wednesday and Leeds — I didn’t manage to score at Leeds, but at Wednesday, I was in the same form and it’s been recognised for me just to come back in time, score some goals and just to show the manager I have got what it takes.

“But I am not going to dwell on the past, I am not going to hold any grudges. I am here now, I am scoring goals and we are moving up the table, so me and the rest of the team are really happy.”

Wickham arrived on Wearside from Ipswich as a precocious 18-year-old in June 2011 as then manager Steve Bruce invested heavily in his potential.

However, his first 37 Premier League appearances included just 12 starts and one goal and were punctuated by a series of loan spells.

His future at Sunderland looked to be bleak when, having failed to make a real impression under Bruce, Martin O’Neill or Paolo Di Canio, he was sent to Wednesday in November and later to Leeds by Poyet.

However, a run of eight goals in 11 appearances for the Hillsborough club persuaded the Uruguayan to give Wickham another chance. With Steven Fletcher injured and Jozy Altidore and Ignacio Scocco becalmed, Wickham has never looked back since.

Wickham said: “I came back and the manager said, ‘Just go and do what you do’ and at the end of the day, I am just doing what I get paid to do. I am playing football and thankfully, I am scoring goals.”

Wickham trebled his Premier League goal haul with a double in a surprise 2-2 draw against Manchester City on April 16, and struck again as the Black Cats condemned Chelsea to a shock 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge.

He was at it again, against Cardiff, opening the scoring with a deft 26th-minute header and then after Fabio Borini’s penalty and a third from substitute Emanuele Giaccherini, completing a crucial victory by repeating the dose at the death.

It is collective, rather than individual, achievement which dominates Wickham’s thoughts.

He said: “It’s not about me personally, it’s about the team. We are going to go into every game positive that we can win.

“We have gone to City and we have taken a point; we have gone to Chelsea and we have taken three points. We are on a high, so we just need to remain calm and do our thing.”

© PA Sport, 2014, All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, re-written, re-distributed or commercially exploited. Sportstar is not responsible for any inaccuracy in the material.

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