Whitehead has targeted more goals in the 2008/09 season

Sunderland captain Dean Whitehead believes the club's new signings can have a big impact this season.

The Black Cats were beaten 1-0 by Ajax at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.

But Whitehead feels the likes of Pascal Chimbonda, Steed Malbranque and El-Hadji Diouf and will be a hit on Wearside this season.

"We knew what the new players were about," he told BBC Radio Newcastle. "We can take a lot of positives out of the performance and build on it."

Manager Roy Keane has been busy in the transfer market, bringing in goalkeeper Nick Colgan, defender Chimbonda and midfielders Malbranque, Diouf, Teemu Tainio and David Meyler, so far this summer.

As captain, Whitehead helped Sunderland retain their Premier League status with a string of hard-working performances at the heart of the midfield.

With just a fortnight to go until the Premier League season begins at home to Liverpool, the captain is seeking the best possible start from his team-mates and has set himself personal targets for the new campaign.

"I've not scored enough goals in the last couple of years, so it will be one of my aims to score more goals," he said.

"We've got a couple of games in Ireland ready to prepare ourselves for Liverpool so we'll be looking to get a proper workout out there."