Ferdinand enjoyed a successful debut at the heart of Sunderland's defence

Sunderland defender Anton Ferdinand hailed the resolve of his new team-mates following Saturday's hard-earned 1-1 draw at Wigan Athletic.

It was very different to last season's 3-0 away defeat to the Latics, as Sunderland produced a steely performance at the JJB Stadium.

"I'm delighted with my debut," Ferdinand told BBC Radio Newcastle.

"We came away with something, which the plan was to do. The boys showed great character to dig in and get the draw."

In a new-look back-four, Ferdinand lined up alongside regular centre-half Nyron Nosworthy at the expense of Welsh defender Danny Collins, with fellow new-arrivals George McCartney and Pascal Chimbonda filling in at full-back.

And the England Under-21 international said he believes he will need to be at his best to retain his place given the strength at manager Roy Keane's disposal.

"There's great competition, with Danny Collins, and competition is very healthy," he said.

"But the key to a winning team, a team that's going to go on and do things is stability and not having too many changes, especially in the backline and at the core of the Sunderland team."