Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill insists he does not want homesick match-winner Craig Gardner to leave After a sixth victory in his nine-game tenure, the Sunderland manager could afford to be in jovial mood, but he remained serious in his assertion that the homesick Brummie very much remains a part of his plans, despite growing speculation he is set for a swift return to England's second city following a £5 million summer arrival. Birmingham, the city, unfairly receives a rough ride when it comes to its image, but as far as Gardner, born in the leafy suburb of Solihull, is concerned, home is where the heart is. It is an apparent desire to return that's prompted West Bromwich Albion and his former clubs Aston Villa, where his younger brother Gary plays, and Birmingham City to make inquiries. Gardner has been a peripheral figure in the first half of the season, but he made a memorable contribution five minutes from time. Shortly after coming off the substitutes" bench, he controlled a pass from Stéphane Sessègnon with his chest before dispatching a looping shot from 25 yards into the top corner. It underlined the potential influence he could exert if O'Neill can persuade him to stick around. "We want Craig to stay," O'Neill reflected after the victory, sparked by an equally eye-catching first-half finish from the influential Sessègnon, saw his team leapfrog Swansea City in mid-table. O'Neill added: "There's been interest from the Midlands, but nothing concrete. I wouldn't want him to leave. He's family orientated, he's never really been away from home before, but this is England. You can get from one place to another. It's not difficult. It's not as if he's playing in the Middle East. Brendan Rodgers felt his side deserved at least a share of the spoils, if nothing else for the way they, at times, monopolised possession. Scott Sinclair and Danny Graham wasted presentable first-half chances and Gylfi Sigurdsson, making his full debut on loan from Hoffenhem, stood out. "It wasn't a case of after the lord mayor's show," the Swansea manager insisted, in the wake of the victory over Arsenal. In terms of the result, however, it was just that. A modest haul of six points away from the confines of the Liberty Stadium provides perhaps the only shadow over what has been a largely successful first stab at life in the Premier League.