Steve Bruce hailed Darren Bent after his second-half double helped Sunderland cling on to a point in a grandstand finish at Blackburn.
Bent's brace took his Barclays Premier League total to 13 this season and Bruce said his tally was rich reward for the attitude he has shown since his move from Tottenham.
Bruce said: "Darren has done terrifically well and he has been a breath of fresh air.
"He has wanted to play for us since the day we signed him.
"Darren has never groaned about the geography of where he's come and he has had a wonderful start.
"Obviously now we need to help him out a little bit but he has had a wonderful start."
But Bruce was left breathing a sigh of relief after his injury-hit side were twice pulled back level then survived a mighty scare when Chris Samba somehow poked a last-gasp rebound wide after Marton Fulop had brilliantly parried a point-blank header from Nikola Kalinic.
Bruce added: "We've deserved our bit of luck. The keeper's made a hell of a save and it (Samba's miss) will probably be on Christmas videos for the next 10 years.
"It would have been harsh on us because of the problems we've got and the teams we've had to field.
"I'm disappointed we didn't hold on to our leads but pleased we've come away with a point."
