Justin Hoyte can press his Premiership claims for two teams tonight. Simon Rushworth caught up with the former sprinter running into form with Sunderland. *********
 If modern-day Premiership footballers are athletes first and players second, then there is no better advert for the 21st century professional than the defender currently occupying Sunderland's left-back berth. Versatility is just one of the right-footed Justin Hoyte's many strengths and the ease with which this virtually unknown 20-year-old has settled into an unfamiliar position has served to cement his popularity on Wearside. But it is his supreme athleticism, borne out of a childhood passion for sprinting, which makes Hoyte such an invaluable asset to any manager. That it is Mick McCarthy who can count on the youngster's pace tonight by no means diminishes his value in the eyes of Arsene Wenger - the coach who has generously loaned the former Arsenal trainee to the Black Cats for the remainder of the season. Hoyte (pictured, right) is, and always has been, part of the wider picture as far as the Gunners' forward-thinking management team is concerned. Where Winterburn, Dixon, Lauren and Cole have led, this latest product of the Arsenal production line is expected to follow. Athletics' loss is football's gain. "I did do a lot of athletics as a youngster," said Hoyte, who followed a family tradition in trying his luck on the track. "I was a sprinter and there was a time when it looked like I might make it doing that. "In the end, though, I always knew that football was what I wanted to do. There came a time when I had to decide, and I chose to stop athletics so I could concentrate on my football." Such is the lure of the Premiership it is difficult to imagine many talented and impressionable teenagers choosing athletics ahead of football. The financial security which a career in the top flight can offer, coupled with a ready-made support network in the shape of Academy staff and like-minded team-mates, must appeal to those considering a largely unrewarding and often lonely individual sport. "My cousin, Jonathan Wall, does triple jump and long jump and he's doing pretty well for himself at the moment," said Hoyte. "He's just gone into the seniors. Both my mum and my dad used to do athletics as well so it was an appealing option for a while. "Then again, I've got a younger brother who is at Arsenal at the moment, playing in the Under-15s and he had to make some of the same choices I did. We are just lucky we had those choices." Hoyte also claims to be proficient in basketball, tennis and table tennis. Football, however, was always his first love. "I played a lot of basketball when I was at school," he said. "I used to play it with my friends all the time. I also played a bit of tennis and a bit of table tennis. But no, it was never difficult for me to decide that football was going to be my sport. I just really love football - that was always the career I wanted to be in. "I can still watch any game of football that's on the TV. With the athletics, I would only watch the major finals - everything else pretty much passed me by." Nothing much passes by Hoyte in the cut and thrust of the Premiership. Nolberto Solano endured a thorough examination of his fitness and form throughout Sunday's Tyne-Wear derby and the experienced Peruvian is not the first top flight veteran to find himself locked in a tense battle with the Black Cats' full-back this season. "Consistency is the key for all of us," he said when asked to elaborate on his most impressive trait. "All we, as players, can do is give 100% every game and, as long as we're doing that, the results will follow. "I think we've done well as a team. Everyone's given their all in every game - that's been clear to see. We've got to keep that going throughout the season." If it will be a test of Sunderland's mental and physical strength to give their all in a Carling Cup tie staged two days after a hard-fought derby defeat then McCarthy is confident Hoyte, for one, will deliver. "Justin was always going to play on Tuesday," said the Black Cats' boss. "I don't feel he'll have too many problems playing two games in three days, especially when he's playing against his team-mates. "He's been brilliant and I'm not going to take that away from him, playing against his team in front of a full house. "It wasn't a stab in the dark taking him on loan. We'd had him watched in the reserves and we'd known about him for a long time so we knew what he was capable of. "But the way he's stepped up into a Premiership team, playing week in week out, has been a pleasant surprise. He hasn't just coped, he's thrived." | 
