 NYRON NOSWORTHY insists he never doubted his ability as a Premier League centre-half. The Sunderland defender’s switch from right-back to central defence just over a year ago coincided with the Black Cats’ Championship-winning charge that saw them lose just once after Christmas on their way to clinching promotion. The transition to the top flight is a massive step up in class – but Nosworthy says he was confident that he would make the grade in his new role. And, while he is the first to admit that there is plenty of room for improvement, his performances so far suggest he is right. “I was confident last time we were in the Premiership when I played at right-back, but I would say I am a lot more confident within myself in this new role,” he said. “I never doubted that I would be able to cope in the Premiership at centre-half. “Obviously, I knew it would be a different ball-game in the top division – no disrespect to the Championship, but you can get away with a lot more there in terms of mistakes. “In the Premiership, you can’t afford to give strikers any kind of chance or else you find they are all over you. “I think it’s worked out well for me but in certain games I think that I could have performed a lot better. “But on the whole I am proud of what I have done so far, and if we can stay up then it will be even more of an achievement.” Sunderland are involved in the relegation battle, but last weekend’s win over fellow strugglers Wigan gave the Black Cats a huge boost. It lifted them up to 14th in the table and opened up a four-point gap between themselves and the relegation zone. Nosworthy was a member of the Sunderland side that crashed out of the Premier League after just one season under Mick McCarthy two years ago. But the 27-year-old believes that Sunderland WILL win their survival battle this time round. He said: “We are going out there and showing that if we perform the way we know we can do, we will give a lot of teams trouble. “We just have to believe that we are going to be fine, and take that into every game. If we do that I am sure we will stay up.” Nosworthy’s no-nonsense, all-action style has made him a favourite with the Sunderland fans. It has also earned him a couple of international call-ups, although the last-minute cancellation of a friendly in October and then a six-week injury lay-off in November mean he has yet to make make his debut for Jamaica. Jamaica have a friendly against Trinidad & Tobago scheduled for next month and Nosworthy is hoping to be involved. If he is, he could be lining up against Wearside team-mates Kenwyne Jones and Carlos Edwards – both of whom are T&T internationals. | 
