Byfield: Let me stay

Darren Byfield has spoken today of his hope that he can continue his career at Sunderland.

The 27 year old joined us mid-season from Rotherham United, in a deal that saw Michael Proctor go in the opposite direction - and Byfield made an immediate impact, scoring on his debut against Watford at Vicarage Road to help Marcus Stewart salvage a 2-2 draw.

The deal was only ever intended to be until the end of the 2003/04 season and despite interest from Derby County - amongst others - Byfield wants to stay.

The player revealed to the Sunderland Echo today that he's been offered a contract at Sunderland, but his agent is weighing up all offers before committing to one.

"There's a two-year contract on the table and my agent's talking to Sunderland about it - I really hope we can sort something out with them.

"It was frustrating to miss the play-off games and, even though I was happy that I scored a few goals, Sunderland fans haven't seen the best of me - no-one has seen me play well at Sunderland. The atmosphere at the stadium against Palace was awesome and those are the sort of fans you want to play for."

But despite the uncertainty over his future, Byfield is already talking in terms of Sunderland's progress for the coming season.

"I want to be firing on all cylinders when I go back to pre-season training, hopefully at Sunderland. I expect they will be up there as one of the top challengers for promotion again next season and I'd like to be a part of it."