Sunderland defender Phil Bardsley relieved after going from zero to hero amongst fans following City winner I was over the advertising hoardings after scoring and I think a couple of people in the crowd patted me on the back. That was nice. A few months ago I would probably have got chinned. I hope they know what I'm about. I'm one of these footballers who, when I cross the white line, I'll put in performances where I wear my heart on my sleeve and when I get the ball I try to be brave with it. The supporters probably don't know the full extent of what happened over the summer. It's history now. There's a new manager and I'm loving playing under Gus Poyet. Any footballer has to do his talking on the pitch. There were a few situations I was involved in which were difficult for me and my family at the time. You've got to be mentally strong in this game or it will destroy you. Thankfully for me, I'm quite tough upstairs so I stayed strong. I knew that I had to offer this football club a little bit more than I had at the time. Bardsley would have almost certainly joined another club had he not picked up an ankle injury in August. That forced him to stay on Wearside for treatment, but he knows he would not have played for Sunderland again if Di Canio had not been sacked following a dressing room revolt in September. It is a second chance he does not intend to waste and he hopes owner Ellis Short is also willing to forgive him for the negative publicity he generated under Di Canio. "I thought at the time my Sunderland career was over," Bardsley said. But the manager has come in, he's given me a new lease of life and here we are talking about a 1-0 win over Manchester City. It's mad. I'd love to stay here. Obviously it's up to the club. I'm in the last seven to eight months of my contract and we'll see. I've got to perform, in the last two games that I've played I've found some form and now I've got to continue. Obviously we're now playing the way the manager wants us to play, it's fantastic. It's great and the lads are enjoying it.