Emerson Thome predicts that Sunderland's clean sheet against Leicester will prove a springboard to success.

The £4.5m Brazilian signing from Chelsea will line up against his old club next weekend confident that at last he's settling down on Wearside.

Thome, 28, confessed: "The first few games with a new club are never easy. It takes time to work things out. But I have started to feel a part of it, and I think that has shown in my performances. The last few games have been better and I'm happy about that."

Sunderland have gone five games unbeaten - three of them in the Premiership - and Thome reckons the Black Cats can now launch their push for a top-six place.

"I was really pleased with my first clean sheet," he said. "Now I hope we can keep the run going and get even better results.

"The fans came to the Leicester match to see a win but sometimes results like that are as good because the team looked solid and did well.

"The support is really good but it's important that the fans are patient. They have to be behind us all the way through because teams will continue to come here and try to make things difficult."

Mark Maley has joined Third Division Blackpool on a month's loan. The Sunderland teenager is likely to be involved in the Seasiders' home game against Southend tomorrow.

Boss Peter Reid wants the former England schoolboy captain to get some first-team experience. Maley, 19, joins Kevin Kyle (Huddersfield) and Chris Lumsdon (Crewe) on loan duty.

l Leeds skipper Lucas Radebe faces another four weeks on the sidelines as he continues to recover from his double concussion nightmare.

Radebe was involved in a clash of heads with team-mate Michael Duberry during Leeds' 4-0 Champions League hammering against Barcelona at the Nou Camp on September 13 and then collided with West Ham's Rio Ferdinand.

The latest visit to a leading neurologist has ruled him out until the end of the month