‘Unbelievable’: Dick Advocaat hails Sunderland's latest Premier League escape
A tearful Dick Advocaat saluted Sunderland’s latest escape from the jaws of Premier League relegation as an “unbelievable feeling”, having secured the point that kept them up in a 0-0 draw at Arsenal on Wednesday.
A tearful Dick Advocaat saluted Sunderland’s latest escape from the jaws of Premier League relegation as an “unbelievable feeling”, having secured the point that kept them up in a 0-0 draw at Arsenal on Wednesday.
Dutchman Advocaat was parachuted into Sunderland’s managerial hot seat in March following the sacking of Gus Poyet and set about rebuilding their battered confidence and helping them ease away from danger.
The most important thing is that the players started believing they could do something
Three wins and three draws in his eight games in charge have helped Sunderland move up to 38 points, four clear of Hull City in the final relegation place with one game of the campaign remaining.
Former Netherlands boss Advocaat said instilling belief in his players had been the secret of his success.
“It is an unbelievable feeling, we did it by ourselves,” he told Sky Sports.
“The players gave everything to stay up. It is a beautiful stadium, facilities are great, but in the last couple of years, they have not always been lucky with things . . .
“I always tell the players, you are not here because you are a nice guy, you are here because you are a good player.
“If you keep saying that and give them the confidence they need, even against better teams, you can get a result.”
Advocaat was appointed until the end of the campaign at a club who last season had also left it until the penultimate match to secure their safety.
He was giving little away about whether he would be tempted to remain in the job.
“I will give an answer next week on my future,” he said.
His players, however, will no doubt be willing him to remain at the helm.
“The manager has been brilliant,” Sunderland captain John O’Shea said, while adding that Sunderland feared going into a final day decider.
While the draw was almost certainly good enough to secure third place and a spot in next season’s Champions League group stages, it was a disappointing result for manager Arsene Wenger, who said his side were tired from Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United.
“We couldn’t score and Sunderland defended well which is understandable because they knew they could be safe tonight. We tried and tried,” Wenger told Sky Sports.
“We gave a lot on Sunday to come back and you could see that the legs were not completely there tonight. At least we didn’t concede and we got an important point.
“We were not sharp enough, not quick enough,” he later added on the BBC. “We are physically less fresh. We played about 58 games and you can see that.”
