Proctor: I needed regular football

Local lad Michael Proctor today revealed why he was happy to go along with SAFC's plans to swap him with Rotherham's Darren Byfield.

Proctor had become a regular on the bench for SAFC this season, despite being prolific for the reserves side and the calls from many Sunderland supporters to play him up front to give some impetus to the club's promotion push.

But last week he was withdrawn from the reserves side to play Leeds at the Archibalds' Stadium in Durham, despite his name even being on the team sheet - and the following day his transfer to Millmoor was all but sealed.

Proctor told the Sunderland Echo, "It's difficult to leave a great club like Sunderland – but this offers me the chance to play regular football and that's all I've ever really wanted.

"It was a difficult decision, but made easier for me by the fact that Ronnie Moore made it clear that he wanted me and how much I was going to be part of his plans.

"The manager has shown faith in me by coming in for me and playing me from the start and as a result of that I want to repay his faith."

And the Sunderland-born player got off to a good start by netting twice on his debut, prompting his new gaffer Ronnie Moore to say, "Michael's a lad who will work his socks off . He's only 23, a baby really, but I think he will prove to be a better player for us than Darren Byfield."

Moore's comments echo Rotherham's apparent irritation at Byfield's refusal to sign a new contract with the Yorkshire club. The Millers have issued a statement refuting recent rumours broadcast on a local radio station that they were anxious to offload the player. Rotherham say that Byfield was offered new terms equal to those that had already been accepted by Rotherham's two senior professionals, but that the player had refused them. The Millers' statement said, "The player was offered new terms in accordance with his valuation but they were rejected as being well below what the agent was demanding."

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