RICKY SBRAGIA believes Sunderland need to recruit an experienced centre-back this summer to help Anton Ferdinand emerge as one of the best defenders in the Premier League.

Sbragia tried to recruit Sami Hyypia in January but, with the Liverpool player agreeing to sign for Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, he will have to reassess his targets at the end of the season.

Much will depend on what division Sunderland are playing in next season, but with the right assistance and Premier League football, the Sunderland boss predicts great things for Ferdinand.

The Sunderland defender, signed from West Ham for £8m by Roy Keane, has enjoyed a promising first season on Wearside, although there have been question marks raised over his positioning at times.

However, Sbragia is confident that Anton has all the attributes to become a top defender.

“Anton drifts mentally sometimes, we know that and he says that. He switches off sometimes,” said Sbragia, who has been credited with an interest in Cardiff’s Roger Johnson. “It’s just a case of persevering with him, teaching him out there on the training pitch, saying this is where I need you to be when the ball is here or the ball’s there and I need you to be there earlier.

“Rio matured as a player the first day he went to Man United. We’re asking Anton to be that way. He’s probably not had enough of working with experienced centre halves who might just guide him, to say ‘that decision was wrong’.

We show him videos of that, to say you’ve done brilliant on that, on this you could be better.”

Anton is the same age as Rio was when he moved to Manchester United from Leeds for £30m in 2002.

The Sunderland defender turned 24 in February and is still looking for his first England cap, having watched his 31-year-old brother claim 72 caps since emerging onto the scene at West Ham.

Sbragia, however, is more than satisfied that Sunderland have a player capable of achieving great things – provided he follows his elder sibling’s lead.

“The likes of Rio and Nemanja Vidic are great role models and Rio has definitely improved since he went to United, there’s no ifs or buts about it and he’s a far superior centre-half now, but age comes into that too,” said the Sunderland manager, a former United coach.

“Anton is a really good player, but if he picks things up earlier, he can be a fantastic player.

“The biggest thing is concentration, he could be more focused and concentrate more. Anton does switch off, he admits it sometimes. I asked him the other day if he saw Rio, did he watch the game.

“I said to him ‘did you see him get into his positions early, did you see him sprinting there?’, not eventually getting there. Sometimes Anton dawdles into positions.

“Anton has got everything you want and when he gets to 25 or 26 he will be a top class defender, I’m sure, but he’s still learning to be honest with you. He’s at the age where he’s learning the game still.”

Ferdinand has had numerous partners with numerous players this season and one of those, Danny Collins, has been named by supporters as the club’s player of the year for the second year in a row.

“Danny is really focused.

We gave him a new contract because he’s everything you want in a player. He loves the club and sweats blood for it,”

said Sbragia. “What we get in training is what we get in games. He never has a bad day in training, even if he’s injured he wants to train and you need people with a big heart.”

One player who will not figure in the remaining three matches of the season is Craig Gordon.

The Scotland goalkeeper has been pencilled in for knee surgery tomorrow, when his team-mates will be at Bolton looking to increase the fourpoint gap they have over Middlesbrough and Newcastle.

“We asked the specialist to have a look and he had a scan which showed cloudiness behind the knee,” said Sbragia.

“That’s it for the season as far as he’s concerned.”