SUNDERLAND'S dealings in the last January transfer window helped deliver promotion to the Premier League. Twelve months on Nyron Nosworthy hopes the new acquisitions help to preserve their place among the elite.

Manager Roy Keane has added Phil Bardsley and Rade Prica to the Black Cats squad this week and their arrivals followed the arrivals of Jean-Yves M'voto and Jonny Evans.

There has also been further contact with Reading with regard to their £5m-rated midfielder Steve Hunt, while Keane continues to pursue other targets he feels will strengthen his squad.

Nosworthy, part of last season's Championship-winning squad, has high hopes that the boss's dealings will help to strengthen Sunderland's push to climb away from the drop zone.

He was around when Carlos Edwards moved to the North-East from Luton and both Evans and Danny Simpson secured loans from Manchester United.

"Hopefully the signing of Phil will make things a lot easier and we can push on from here," said Nosworthy. "We need to start winning more than just one game. In a short space of time, we need to start putting runs of three games together.

"Last year, Carlos, Jonny and Danny Simpson made a big difference. With Phil coming in, hopefully it'll give us the same sort of feeling and the same sort of lift. It's a relief and I might not have to play right-back as much, which will do me.

"It's been a bit of a mix-up at the back this season, but you just have to get on with it and do a job. It's nice to have a settled side to a certain extent, but in football that only happens sometimes."

The return of Evans, now in his second loan spell at the Stadium of Light, has meant Keane can field the young Northern Irishman alongside Nosworthy again at the heart of the defence.

It was a pairing which was outstanding in the Championship, although last weekend's defeat at Tottenham highlighted that there are certain aspects the partnership needs to work on.

That outing, however, was only their second appearance of the season together in the middle and Nosworthy feels the understanding they have for one another's game is evident.

"It's been quite easy because Jonny's a talent," said Nosworthy, who played alongside Evans when Sunderland kept a clean sheet in the win over Portsmouth on January 13.

"It makes it easy for me to get on with my job and concentrate on what I need to do. We know each other's game from last time he was here. We're different players, but we compliment each other's game.

"We're playing at a higher level now, so he has to raise his game. It's a learning curve for him, just like it is for me, and I think we can only get better.

"His age is not an issue. He hasn't got much experience yet but, from the way he's been playing, you'd think he'd been in the game for as long as I have."

As well as defensively, Keane's swoop for Swedish striker Prica is an indication of his belief that his attacking options need improving.

The 27-year-old, a £2m signing from Aalborg, finished as the Danish League's top-scorer last season and Keane is confident the international can complete the transition from two entirely different standards.

Prica is relishing the opportunity to shine on these shores. "To play in the Premier League was always a dream," he said. "Sunderland are a great club and I am really looking forward to it. I know they have a great stadium and there are always many fans.

"I hope the experience of playing in different countries - Denmark, Sweden and Germany - will help me here. I have grown as a person and I'm not so scared to move away as I was when I moved to Germany with Hansa Rostock."

Prica will be included in the squad to face Birmingham next Tuesday and he admitted that Sunderland faced competition for his signature.

"There was interest from teams in different countries, but Sunderland showed the most interest," he said.

"I know about the manager here, absolutely. He was a great player and he has done very well as a manager. If he wants me to play (against Birmingham), I am ready.