Despite claiming only their second win in the last 12 games when they beat Southampton at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, the Black Cats still find themselves in the bottom three with three weeks of the season to go.
However, they are within a point of Leicester and Hull, and just two points adrift of Aston Villa and Newcastle after the weekend results saw the fight to avoid relegation to the Championship really hot up.
Suddenly, Sunderland will be heading into their next two games against Everton and Leicester with some momentum behind them, while Newcastle, on the back of eight successive defeats, continue to hurtle headlong towards the relegation zone.
Advocaat: “It’s definitely important to keep pressure on the other teams.
“Burnley lost (on Saturday) and Queens Park Rangers lost, and we have made a difference between them and us.
“We have also got closer to the teams above us, and now maybe also Newcastle with 35 points and difficult games to come. They also have to play a team below us (QPR), so I think it will go on until the end.”