...Whitehead's pledge on future
Jun 13 2008 by James Hunter, Evening Chronicle
DEAN WHITEHEAD has scotched reports claiming he will leave Wearside this summer.
The Sunderland skipper has this week been linked with a move to newly-promoted Stoke City, but Whitehead insists he is going nowhere.
Whitehead wants the rumours to stop and took time out of his summer break to reassure Sunderland fans that he wants to stay.
He said: “It’s exciting times for the club and I want to be a part of it.
“I’ve been here four years now, I’ve seen a few ups and downs, but securing top-flight status was a huge thing for us last season and I can’t wait to tackle it again this year.
“The gaffer is planning to bring in some new players and that will only benefit the club and me as a player.
“It will create more competition for places and will improve the overall quality of the squad when we sometimes lacked it last season, so it should enable the club to move on to the next level.
“I certainly want to be a part of that and I’m looking forward to the challenge of staying in team.”
The versatile midfielder was a key player for the Black Cats last season and he is certainly not on the list of players Black Cats boss Roy Keane is looking to offload during the close-season.
Keane rates the 26-year-old highly, and Whitehead did not miss a game from November onwards after recovering from the knee ligament injury he suffered at the start of last season and which kept him out for three months.
Whitehead’s agent Phil Sproson added: “He is under contract with Sunderland and we only did that last year.
“I know [Stoke manager] Tony Pulis has been an admirer of his for a while, but that is only to say that he is Tony’s sort of player.
“Maybe people have picked it up from there.
“He has had one or two people interested in him during the last couple of years.”
Whitehead joined Sunderland from Oxford United four years ago with then-manager Mick McCarthy paying £325,000 to bring him to the club.
He has been one of Sunderland’s most consistent performers over his four years on Wearside.
You need to get the wallet out and splash the cash Mr Coates, because they aren't going to be joining for the love of Stoke unfortunately.
