DICK ADVOCAAT will not be worrying about what Sunderland’s relegation rivals are up to after realising his players truly believe they are up for the fight of keeping Premier League football on Wearside.

The Black Cats will pile the pressure on those around them by climbing out of the bottom three if they can become the first team to win at Goodison Park since Boxing Day in today’s lunchtime kick-off with Everton.

A surprise win over the Toffees, whose home form has kept them away from danger, would be the perfect tonic ahead of next Saturday’s crucial fixture with fellow strugglers Leicester City at the Stadium of Light.

Hull City, who face Burnley today, Newcastle United and Aston Villa are still in the thick of the relegation scrap, but Advocaat has been satisfied with his side’s last two performances against Stoke City and Southampton.

Sunderland claimed four points from those two fixtures and, together with the 1-0 victory over Newcastle at the start of last month, they have given themselves a real chance of avoiding the drop into the Championship – and the players are convinced they can do it.

“What will keep a team up? Confidence and knowing they can do it,” said Advocaat. “I honestly don’t talk about what the other teams are doing or will do; I talk about my players and what they need to do before a game, the strengths and weaknesses of other teams.

“I don’t make other teams better, I have never done that. It is my team that is important. Before the game we start to think that’s what we have to do. I think that’s what makes it easier.

“Now we have momentum to score a goal, which is already a big advantage. We talk every day about that to the players about how important it is, but everybody is doing that, not only me. We have momentum and we have to keep going.”

When Advocaat took over from Gus Poyet five matches ago, Sunderland looked certainties for relegation having seen confidence hit rock bottom after a 4-0 home defeat to Aston Villa on the back of a seven-match winless slump.

But the Dutchman has overseen two wins and a draw from their last four, and has sensed a change of atmosphere within the camp as well as an appreciation of exactly what is at stake.

Advocaat said: “Some players are more confident than they were; it’s always difficult to bring in a foreign coach nine games before the end of the season because I am not a real English-type coach either so this club took a risk by that.

“The team really needed to adapt quick for the way we work. We never speak about the previous coaches, they have gone, we are in and we have to do it, it doesn’t matter what has gone on before.

“You cannot do it on your own. Understanding that is the most important thing. The consequences of if we go down are, for the players, so very high. I have told them all. That kind of thing you need to talk to them about and they know what they have to do.”

Sunderland will be forced in to at least one change today because John O’Shea has not recovered from the rib injury sustained in last weekend’s win over Southampton. Wes Brown is available after knee trouble, although Santiago Vergini and Sebastian Coates hope to start at the heart of the defence.

Advocaat has told striker Steven Fletcher that he is not guaranteed a start despite being passed fit to play, with Danny Graham impressing against Stoke City and Southampton.

“It is a team effort where everybody has to know what they have to do,” said Advocaat, who has also ruled out Jack Rodwell because of hamstring trouble. “It is good that he is back, but I have said that Graham in training is a goalscorer. You can see that.

“During the games Graham has not done that which is strange, but in the last couple of games we have scored goals, even if it was penalties, which has helped us and is good for confidence.”

Sunderland remain a point shy of safety and Advocaat wants to see his side significantly boost their chances of staying up before the visit of Leicester in eight days.

“I think we need three or four more points but that’s possible,” he said. “It’s in our hands and that’s important. We have two games at Chelsea and Arsenal, people are only counting the first two games but we still have two games after Everton and Leicester. Everyone is only counting those first two, I don’t see why.”

He added: “I don’t care what others do. I only care about our club. I don’t care about Newcastle, Hull or whoever. I don’t look too much at other teams. We have to care and show it on the pitch. It could go to the last game of the season, which is a nice game (smiles) at Chelsea!”