Sunderland midfielder Steed Malbranque won praise from manager Steve Bruce after their 4-0 thumping of Bolton Wanderers.

Malbranque has been linked with a move away after he was fined by Bruce for a breach of discipline and left out of his squad before last night's return.

"Steed Malbranque put in his best performance of the season - the kid was terrific," Bruce told safc.com. "He was arguably the best player of the pitch. We all know what he's capable of and he did very, very well tonight.

"That's given me food for thought. Maybe Steed's best position is on the left, as opposed to the other side. I'm learning all the time.

"Full credit to Steed tonight."