PENALTY-SAVING derby hero Thomas Sorensen goes into tomorrow's big game determined to make amends to his Sunderland teammates for the nightmare mistake at Fulham in midweek.

The Wearsiders looked set to claim a point at Craven Cottage when the normally reliable Dane kicked the ball straight to an opponent and found himself picking the ball out of the net.

But Sorensen, best remembered by Sunderland fans for his crucial penalty save from Alan Shearer at St James' Park last season, will not allow the error to undermine his confidence in the derby match.

Sorensen held up his hands in the dressing room after the 2-0 defeat at Fulham and he said last night: "These things happen sometimes and there is nothing you can do about it.

"It doesn't dent my confidence - it was just one of those things on the night. It was a bad time to do it and I was obviously disappointed, but it happens and you just have to smile and get on with it.

"Of course I will make mistakes - but I have told the rest of the lads I will save the team more times than I will let them down and I believe that."

Sorensen, who has played a major role in helping Sunderland finish seventh in each of their last two Premiership campaigns, has replaced Peter Schmeichel in the Danish side and is looking forward to playing even better in the future.

He said: "I am getting better, especially through playing so many big games and the more experience you get in those games the more you learn.

"I feel I have got to a level now which I am happy with but I want to be even better."

Sorensen added: "As a goalkeeper it is vital to have self-belief.

"You have to believe in yourself, but there needs to be a balance and you have to be critical of your own performance even when you have a fantastic game without letting it affect your confidence."

Sunderland fans still savour the moment when Sorensen denied Shearer an equaliser when he pushed away his penalty, but the goalkeeper refused to get carried away by the all-important save.

He said: "That penalty save didn't change anything for me but it probably did for the fans.

"It is, of course, fantastic to be remembered for things like that but I would rather be remembered for a long career at Sunderland than one single penalty save.

"For days immediately after the game last season the fans talked about the penalty save. It just shows the passion of the fans and how much the Newcastle game means to them. But it hasn't changed me and made me feel like a big star.

"When I speak to the fans they still bring it up a lot and still congratulate me - it's great and that's what football's all about."

Sorensen believes he has the mental strength to learn from his mistake at Craven Cottage.

He said: "I will learn from my mistake at Fulham and I will use it as a motivation.

"In the game after Newcastle last season, after saving the penalty, I went out determined to have a good game in the next one.

"You can't live on one save or several saves or one good game. You need to haul yourself back - you can't be too confident and you need to find the right level to get the best out of yourself.

"I have always been told to realise that things can go wrong and to keep that in your mind so that it does not creep up on you. If you are not afraid of it you can deal with it better when things do go wrong."

Sorensen, having replaced Schmeichel in the Danish team, now wants to help Sunderland gain entry into Europe.

He said: "I have had a fantastic three years at Sunderland and now getting into Europe is what we all want. We need to be in Europe and winning one of the cups to help attract better players here - if we can do that we can compete with the top teams."

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