DICK ADVOCAAT has revealed that Sunderland asked him to take charge for one last time after confirming to the club last week that he had decided to leave.

The Dutchman officially stood down as the Black Cats head coach on Sunday, just 24 hours after finishing with a 2-2 draw with West Ham United at the Stadium of Light.

But Advocaat, in an interview in Holland, had already made up his mind that the time was right to go and Sunderland were already aware of the situation.

The 68-year-old said: “I already made my decision last week, but the club asked me to do the match against West Ham and I really wanted to finish this in style.

“The struggle against relegation is not my cup of tea. I think it was time for someone else to take over at Sunderland. I became negative and that didn’t feel like myself.”

Sunderland are now looking for his replacement, with Sam Allardyce, Nigel Pearson and Sean Dyche among those under consideration by the club’s owner Ellis Short.

But Advocaat, who was persuaded to sign a new 12-month deal after keeping the team up last season, hinted how he thinks it will be a tough ask for someone to lift Sunderland clear of the relegation zone before the transfer window opens in January.

He said: “I don’t regret signing my new contract, because it was a great experience. Our squad was simply not good enough. The club knew that we had to strengthen ourselves, but the chairman never told me how much we could spend.”