DIDIER NDONG understands why some Sunderland supporters are disappointed at the club’s failure to sign Yann M’Vila, but is determined to help the Black Cats prosper without the French midfielder.

Sunderland officials have confirmed they will not be enacting the pre-contract agreement that was agreed with M’Vila in the summer, and that would have seen the 26-year-old sign a three-year contract on Wearside had he moved from Rubin Kazan.

M’Vila had expressed a reluctance about returning to Wearside, despite having enjoyed a successful loan spell with the Black Cats last season, but some supporters have taken to social media to voice their frustration at the club’s refusal to rekindle their interest in a deal that could have been completed for €10m in the summer.

With M’Vila having played an influential role in last season’s successful survival push under Sam Allardyce, Ndong understands why the former Inter Milan midfielder remains a popular figure at the Stadium of Light.

But having arrived in a club-record £13m move on deadline day in August, the Gabon international is hoping to earn similar adulation thanks to his own performances in a Sunderland shirt this season.

“It is nice to know the manager has trust and confidence in me, and it is up to me to repay it now,” said Ndong, who left French Ligue 1 side Lorient to move to Wearside. “People have shown confidence in me, now I have to show they were right to do that.

“I had a long conversation with the manager before I came here, and right from the start, I think there was a good level of understanding about what I could do.

“Obviously, the supporters have a lot of love for the players who did so well at the end of last season under Sam Allardyce. I understand that. The club avoided relegation, and the fans have certain feelings towards the players who have left.

“I have played 16 matches so far, so I still need a bit of time to completely adapt, but I hope they will be able to judge me after some more work has been done and they will be happy with what I have been able to bring. I try to give my all, and that is where the trust from everyone has to come from.”

Ndong started the current campaign in a Lorient shirt, but made his Sunderland debut from the substitutes’ bench in the first game after his arrival from France and has started all ten of the club’s subsequent league matches.

Ideally, he would have had a much less frenetic settling-in period, but with Jan Kirchhoff, Lee Cattermole and Seb Larsson having started the campaign with serious injuries, and with Cattermole,  Paddy McNair, Duncan Watmore and Lynden Gooch all currently ruled out with long-term issues, he has quickly become the linchpin of the Sunderland midfield.

The Northern Echo:

His early performances were understandably inconsistent, but he has really come into his own in the last month or so, with his energy, work rate and technical ability combining to make him a major asset.

Slick in possession and happy handling the physical side of the game, he looks ideally suited to English football, and while he only turned 22 in the summer, his grounding in the French top-flight meant he was never concerned about being able to handle the transition to the Premier League, even though he was stepping into some sizeable shoes.

“People like Kirchhoff and Cattermole are very good players who have played a lot of games in the Premier League,” said Ndong. “But when the manager asked me to come here, it was because he had seen me playing and thought I could do a good job.

“I have a lot of respect for the players who were out, but when you are recruited, you are recruited to play. I have played 67 matches in the French championship and there is a lot of competition over there so you have to play at a high standard all the time. That is what the manager sees in you, and that is why they want you to play in the matches.”

Ndong’s next game will come at Swansea tomorrow, and having won three of their last four matches, Sunderland could haul themselves out of the bottom three with a win at the Liberty Stadium.

Tomorrow’s game kicks off a hectic run of six games in the space of just over three weeks, with the home game with Liverpool on January 2 marking Ndong’s final outing before he leaves to represent Gabon in the Africa Cup of Nations, which is being staged in his homeland.

Lamine Kone and Wahbi Khazri will also be heading to Gabon, with Papy Djilobodji being touted for a possible recall to the Senegal squad, and Ndong admits it will be strange to be absent at such a pivotal stage of the season.

“As the host nation, it is a very big thing for Gabon as a country and for everyone who comes from Gabon,” he said. “In terms of Sunderland, we really need to keep it up because of the rough start we had and that makes it a bit of a difficult position.

“I do not want to be leaving when things are so up in the air, but I will have to leave to play for my country. That is just the way it is, so between now and then, I have to make sure I am doing everything I can to leave Sunderland in the best position possible.

“It leaves me a bit unsettled because I do not like to leave things unfinished, but all I can do is give my all in the next few games to make sure things are as good as possible when I leave.”