HE might have inherited his number 33 shirt and he might boast the same dazzling dribbling ability on the left flank, but Sunderland's Ross Wallace does not want his versatility to make him the 'new Julio Arca'.

While Arca would have preferred to have spent his Black Cats career playing at left-back, the lack of a left-wing alternative meant the South American was repeatedly fielded in a much more advanced position.

Wallace is currently suffering from similar frustrations, and while the preferences have been reversed - the Scotsman currently finds himself at left-back when he would rather be in midfield - the upshot is undoubtedly the same.

Just like his predecessor, Wallace is too much of a team man to allow his personal priorities to affect his performances on the pitch. But like Arca before him, the 21-year-old is desperate to carve out a niche in his number-one slot.

"I don't particularly enjoy playing at left-back because it isn't my position," said Wallace, who joined Sunderland from Celtic when the transfer window was last open in August. "I would much prefer to be on the left wing.

"But if the gaffer needs me to fill in there, I have no problems doing that. I'm still able to get forward.

"In the modern game, full-backs are more like wing-backs. There's a bit more defending to do but I can still do some attacking."

Nevertheless, Wallace would undoubtedly be able to get forward more if he was playing in midfield.

With Lewin Nyatanga having returned to Derby following the completion of his loan spell, and with Clive Clarke still out of favour following a temporary switch of his own, Wallace is almost certain to continue in his full-back role for this afternoon's home game with Ipswich.

Last weekend's cup defeat at Preston hinted at an embryonic relationship with Swedish left-footer Tobias Hysen.

But while the pair are likely to be linking up again later today, Wallace is reluctant to start getting too close to someone he continues to view as a midfield rival rather than a left-wing ally.

"Tobias has looked good and we have linked up well together," said the Scotsman. "But I don't want to build a partnership with him because I want to be playing where he is.

"I hope I will be able to get my place back but I know I will have to work hard because he's looked good in the last couple of games."

Having been sent off when Sunderland lost to Ipswich in September, Wallace will be out for a modicum of revenge when the Tractor Boys visit the Stadium of Light this afternoon.

Last autumn's 3-1 reverse marked one of the low points of Roy Keane's four-month reign as Sunderland manager, but much has changed since the Black Cats surrendered meekly at Portman Road.

Carlos Edwards and Jonny Evans have already made their debuts after moving to the Stadium of Light and, this afternoon, the Wearside faithful will get their first glimpse of £2m man Anthony Stokes.

The 18-year-old might not have made a senior start in England, but after speaking to some of his former team-mates from north of the border, Wallace is confident the former Falkirk loanee is a star in the making.

"I've seen Anthony play a couple of times and the guys I have spoken to in Scotland have raved about him," he said. "His record at Falkirk was phenomenal. He has some record and hopefully he can continue like that at Sunderland.

"I'm looking forward to linking up with him and he's looked very good in training this week. He's quick, he's got good feet and he likes to get in the box.

"To be honest, he's just what we need. We're quite good going forward outside the box, but we've been lacking someone like him in the area.

"He's looking sharp and Dave Connolly is looking sharp, so we're starting to look good when it comes to the attack."

Stokes' arrival underlines the extent of Sunderland's ambition and, after hauling themselves into the top half of the table in the first half of the season, anything less than a play-off place would now be seen as a disappointment.

Wallace accepts that the Black Cats gave themselves a mountain to climb by losing all of their first four games. But the former Celtic midfielder insists they are now perfectly positioned to mount a promotion push.

"We've done well to get to where we are considering the start to the season we had," he added. "But we want to go further.

"We've missed a few opportunities to get into the play-off positions, but we're determined to get up there now and we're all confident we can have a good second half of the season."

Grant Leadbitter has signed a one-year contract extension that will keep him at the Stadium of Light until 2009. The 20-year-old midfielder, who signed a new two-year deal last July, has been rewarded for a string of impressive performances this season.