STEVE BRUCE will not make any quick decisions on the players he has inherited and chairman Niall Quinn has challenged every member of the Sunderland squad to prove they deserve to stay.

When Bruce returns from a holiday he will put plans in place to strengthen his options by firming up interest in certain targets he has already outlined to Quinn.

Having hinted he will not rush into moving on any of the players before the start of pre-season training in early July, the former Wigan boss wants to give everyone a chance to impress.

It is a tactic that has been well received within the boardroom at the Stadium of Light and Quinn has challenged the existing members of the squad to show they want to make the Bruce era a successful one.

“We’ve got some players with a lot of promise and potential and I think Steve will make men out of them,” said Quinn. “We will shuffle the deck this summer but we haven’t started a major clear out or anything like that.

“Player selection is down to Steve Bruce but we’re confident we will keep all of our best players. If our players have anything about them they will want to stay at Sunderland and be a part of what is happening here.

“This is an opportunity for them to take another big step forward in their careers under Steve Bruce.

“For those who are on the fringes of international football they should be looking at becoming full internationals next season. I’m talking about Anton Ferdinand and Kieran Richardson. They are two players for example who will really get the bit between the teeth and Steve will be great for their careers. Let’s see where it will go.”

Quinn began a short holiday yesterday after making a headstart on Bruce’s transfer targets, with Wigan’s Lee Cattermole known to be one of them.

Former Newcastle defender Titus Bramble is also reported to be in his sights, although Austrian Paul Scharner has ruled out following his former boss to Wearside.

The 29-year-old was rarely used in his preferred central defensive position at Wigan, with Bruce tending to use him as a midfielder.

With Fulham among the clubs interested in signing him, the £6m-rated international is no fan of Sunderland or the club’s new manager.

“There has been interest from clubs in England and Germany,” said Scharner. “I can’t see myself joining Sunderland.

They are certainly not an improvement on Wigan. Besides I did not get on too well with Bruce’s style of play.”

Even if there is little progress on the transfer front in the next couple of weeks, Quinn will not worry. Instead he expects things to develop slowly before Bruce starts to see success in the market.

“A lot of clubs are shuffling the deck at the moment and it’s early,” said Quinn. “They are yet to deal and it will be a bit cagey for a while.

“The important thing to remember is that we already have some very good players at this football club and it will be interesting to see what effect Steve has on their careers.

“We’ve given ourselves a chance, though, with Steve Bruce and it’s particularly pleasing to get him in so early in the summer so we have plenty of time to work on transfers and things.”

■ Sunderland will field a strong reserve team for a preseason friendly at Oldham on July 25.