DICK ADVOCAAT has praised his Sunderland players for displaying the 'fight' required to keep their survival hopes alive.

The Black Cats dug deep to defeat Europa League hopefuls Southampton 2-1 at the Stadium of Light.

Two Jordi Gomez penalties, one in each half on 21 minutes and 55, did the damage to the Saints, who had cancelled out the Spaniard's first a minute later through Sadio Mane.

The victory was a much needed one given the other results, with Sunderland still a point adrift of safety despite a hard-earned win.

And Advocaat thinks Sunderland turned in a display to suggest just how much everyone is still together to keep the club in the Premier League.

He said: “Knowing the results of the other teams, it was really necessary to win.

“Today it was a real team performance. We worked so hard to get this result. At the end, I think we also deserved it. We created enough chances.

“But against a team like Southampton with very good players, they can always score out of nothing, whereas we really have to do it as a team and that’s the difference.

“We worked so hard, and I was really happy when the final whistle came.

“You could see that Southampton are a good side – they are still playing for points for a European place “But from the beginning we showed them they would have to fight to get the points. The fighting spirit was great, we can still play better, but with the pressure, I think we did really well.”

Leicester's 3-0 win over Newcastle kept the Foxes above the dotted line, although the Magpies are in free fall and are just two clear of the bottom three after losing eight in a row.

Victories for Aston Villa and Hull City in the last week have also piled the pressure on those below them, so Sunderland know they have to keep going ahead of next Saturday's trip to Everton.

Advocaat, whose side also face Leicester at the Stadium of Light before finishing with trips to Arsenal and Chelsea, said: “I said (prior to last week’s draw at Stoke) if we get six or seven points, it would be enough – but I don’t think it will be, unfortunately!

“We have taken seven points from five games, and there are still four more games to go. Everything is still in our own hands, that is the most important thing.”