Phil Bardsley has a special place in his heart for Sunderland and that love affair will never diminish. When the ex-Black Cats defender looks back on his footballing journey, there’s one chapter that stands out above all others - his team on Wearside.

It is a club where he not only rediscovered himself as a player but also forged a bond with a city and its people that remains strong to this day.

“It’s been almost 20 years since I signed for the club,” he told safc.com. “Coming from a working-class background in Salford, I think it just connected with Sunderland and the people there. I’ve always believed in hard work first and foremost – your quality comes out after that. That’s what the fans respected, and that’s what I tried to give every time I pulled on the shirt.”

Bardsley arrived on Wearside in 2008, signed by Roy Keane after coming through the ranks at Manchester United and experiencing loans at Rangers and Aston Villa among others.

But for him it was...