Bruce does not want the fluke nature of the winner to detract from their good performance.
A shot from Sunderland striker Darren Bent deflected off a beach ball and past the helpless Jose Reina.
“I thought it was a deflection off a player and I have just seen it, but if anyone knew the rule that it should have been a drop ball then you are a real saddo!” he said.
“I thought we deserved the win, I hope that [the goal] isn’t the headline – in the second half we had three one-on-ones.
“I was thinking that we needed to get a second, but I thought we thoroughly deserved it and one of the reasons I came here was for days like this.
“The confidence is there and let’s hope we can maintain it and carry on.”
