Defiant Dudek to prove critics wrong

Some may be forgiven for thinking the hot breathe of competition, exerted by a man of the match performance by Chris Kirkland in the Worthington Cup, may have left the Pole feeling the pressure from his young understudy. Dudek asserts that events against Middleborough will not affect him against Sunderland.

He said: "When you are a goalkeeper you can't allow yourself to dwell on these things. Every goalkeeper in the game makes a mistake sometimes.

I still feel good about my game and my performances and I won't allow myself to worry about it. It's something I want to put behind me and bounce back in the right way."