Are we witnessing the beginning of something special at the Stadium of Light? After all, Sunderland were expected to struggle again this season, albeit not as much as last term when they regularly fought to keep theirs heads above water. After a 2-1 win at Tottenham on Saturday, one of their players isn’t just daring to dream, but making confident assertions regarding how they will perform this campaign. This guy isn’t known for his modesty…

Setanta reports that El Hadji Diouf is getting all excited after their win at the Lane, claiming that this is a team heading places this season. Indeed, manager Roy Keane is making a real statement of intent with the player he’s acquiring, although is the former Liverpool striker getting a little ahead of himself?

“Djibril will be one of the top scorers in the Premier League, I know it,” he told the Newcastle Evening Chronicle.

“It is great for him to be at Sunderland and great for the Premier League to have him.

“This is the world’s best league and he can show everyone now how good he is.”

Sunderland boss Roy Keane has also brought in the likes of Steed Malbranque, Pascal Chimbonda and David Healy this summer, and Diouf believes relegation battles are now a thing of the past.

“This is the new Sunderland and we know what we can achieve.

“I think our performances have shown why we can believe in having a great season.

“I don’t see why we shouldn’t get into the top eight.”

Will the Black Cats finish in the top half this season? After Saturday’s performance, there seems little reason to doubt that they can more than hold their own this term, although it’s still early days and they are still relative newcomers to the Premier League. Plus, can Cisse really demonstrate that Liverpool were wrong to sell him, or is he still going to be hit-and-miss in the English top flight?

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