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Patrick Van Aanholt proves he is no longer a liability for Sam Allardyce's Sunderland
A FEW weeks ago, Patrick Van Aanholt epitomised just about everything wrong with Sunderland - both were hapless, hopeless and heading for Premier League oblivion.
Allardyce: "We've still a huge amount of work to do"
But his transformation has mirrored the club's improvement as a team under Sam Allardyce.
Yet even without his thunderous 82nd-minute strike which finally broke Stoke resistance, Van Aanholt proved on Saturday that he is more of an asset than a liability these days.
"Everyone can criticise me but I don't listen to them," he said. "I know what I am capable of. The manager has given us belief and changed us with a different way of training and playing.