Baptism of fire awaits Advocaat

Sunderland - Dick Advocaat could not have asked for a more dramatic introduction to life at the Stadium of Light as his first home match in charge of Sunderland will be a fiercely-contested derby against Newcastle on Sunday.

Thousands of Sunderland fans walked out of the ground long before the end of their previous home game against Aston Villa, when a 4-0 defeat ended the reign of Gus Poyet and left the Black Cats one point outside the Premier League's relegation zone.

And Advocaat, Sunderland's new Dutch manager, knows a derby victory against their bitter rivals would be a major boost to their survival bid and to his hopes of convincing the club he is the right man to lead them for the foreseeable future.