DAN Ballard paid no attention to the summer transfer speculation linking him with a Premier League move, with the defender instead insisting that he knows he's in the "best place" at Sunderland.

Former Arsenal defender Ballard was linked with West Ham United early in the summer, but rather than have his head turned the centre-half said he wanted to repay the Black Cats for the faith they showed when they signed him last summer, and was delighted to last week put pen to paper on a new long-term deal at the Stadium of Light.

Ballard now wants to use the frustration of his injury woe at the end of last season as motivation to get even better after an impressive first campaign on Wearside.

The 23-year-old's first season at the Stadium of Light was disrupted by injury but when fit he was a key man and he cherishes being a "big part" of Mowbray's Sunderland side, hence his delight at extending his stay at the club and signing a new four-year deal.

"I've loved the last year here," said the defender.

"It's exciting I can stay a little longer and commit my future to the club. They gave me an opportunity last year to come and play and I feel it's only right to repay them with good performances and try to help out as much as possible.

"I think for my pathway going forward I’ve got a good relationship with the manager, with the club. I feel like I’m a big part of this team and sometimes you can’t guarantee that anywhere else.

"I’m really happy and comfortable here and feel like it’s the best place to play my football."

That satisfaction at Sunderland is why he ignored the West Ham speculation early in the summer transfer window.

"I don’t really pay too much interest," he said.

"I think you probably would if they come in and really try to disrupt things but that wasn’t the case.

"I was focusing on getting back fit and doing my pre-season so there wasn’t really any time to think about that and I was just happy and enjoying playing football."

For all Ballard has loved his time at Sunderland so far, his first season wasn't without its setbacks. He faced four months on the sidelines early in the campaign after fracturing his foot and after returning and establishing himself in Mowbray's side, suffered a hamstring injury that ultimately ruled him out of the play-offs - which meant the frustration of having to watch from the sidelines as the Wearsiders were edged out by Luton in the semi-finals.

"It was tough because I felt I could have helped the team," he sad.

"We didn’t have any centre-halves for the away game at Luton and that summed it up in the end.

"It was extremely frustrating but it’s something to learn from. I was trying desperately to get back to full fitness and that probably worked against me but it’s something to learn from in the future."

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Ballard now hopes he's put those injury issues behind him and says he feels better than ever after a full pre-season.

"I've had some tough injuries in my time but I'm confident in my body," he says.

"Sometimes, you know the second game of the season someone comes over and stamps on your foot, what can you do? I know I'm professional and feel like I look after my body. There's no hesitation, it's just sometimes these things happen.

"With my style of play, I'll probably be in the wars a bit more because I like that physical contact and battle. But I never go into a game worrying about getting injured.

"I’ve been in the full off-season and had probably over two months of work, running and getting fit.

"My body and myself, I’ve never been in a better spot so hopefully I can stay fit, stay on the pitch and put in some good performances for the team."

The season started with defeat at the hands of newly promoted Ipswich but Ballard is backing Sunderland to dust themselves down and get in the top six mix again this term.

He says: "I think that’s the goal. I think it’s going to be a lot tougher than last year."