HAVING bridged the gap between division two and the Championship with the minimum of effort, Liam Lawrence is confident he can handle even higher heights, writes Matt Westcott..

His penalty against Brighton secured three points for Sunderland and saw the Black Cats go fifth in the table.

It was Lawrence's first goal for his new club since his £175,000 move from Mansfield in the summer.

"I always thought I could make that step, it was just a case of being given the chance and thankfully Sunderland have done that," said the player, commonly known as the David Beckham of Field Mill before his switch North. "I was expecting it to be tight at times but I did expect (teams) to let you play and that suits me."

After failing to secure promotion last year, Sunderland manager Mick McCarthy has made big changes to the playing staff and Lawrence aims to repay the faith shown in him.

"I am a confident lad and a confident player and if we do go up, which I think we will, I think a lot of the lads will be able to make that step and keep us there," he said.

Read more about Sunderland here.