Sunderland coach Steve Bruce has revealed that Asamoah Gyan’s dedicated work ethic is what will make the Ghanaian player successful in England. Bruce caught Gyan training on his own when he had asked the players to take a day off from training last month. Sunderland’s £13m record signing, and candidate for Fifa’s Ballon d’Or, arrived on Wearside accompanied by fitness issues but, strong, skillful and unselfishly imaginative, he was the outstanding individual on Saturday. Though his first goal against Stoke on Saturday was a tap-in, the second caught the eye. Indeed Gyan might have had a hat-trick if Steed Malbranque had not insisted on taking a somewhat softly awarded first half penalty only to see it saved by Asmir Begovic. If Bruce harboured doubts about Gyan’s diligence, they were allayed by a chance encounter. “Physically he was a mess when he came here,” said the Sunderland manager. “Asamoah wasn’t like what we’d seen in the World Cup. “But he has worked extremely hard, so much so that the other day I saw him running on his own. I was in my car and I saw this fella with a hood up. “It was Asamoah and it was an afternoon off. You don’t often see that and as I drove past, I thought, ‘That will do for me.’” It is all part of Gyan’s unorthodox personna. “Asamoah is different, he’s typically African, he’s unpredictable,” said Bruce. “He’s not been coached in the way our lads are and he’ll always try do a trick, a back-heel, a flick. He’ll do my head in occasionally but he’s got that bit of unpredictability you need to score a goal.” Source: Ghanasoccernet.com