DICK ADVOCAAT has revealed how boardroom persistence resulted in him staying on at Sunderland - now he wants owner Ellis Short to show his persuasive powers to land new players.

Advocaat has spent the last week putting his squad through its paces during his first pre-season programme after deciding to stay on for another 12 months as head coach.

And, speaking to the media for the first time this summer, the 67-year-old explained his reasons for accepting a new deal and taking a U-turn on his retirement decision, ahead of tonight’s friendly with Darlington at Heritage Park.

The Dutchman has already enjoyed being back with the group of players he helped keep in the Premier League during his initial nine-game spell, and he owes a lot to his wife Dieuwke’s decision to let him stay.

Advocaat said: “I had spoken to them (Ellis Short and Lee Congerton) a few times and I kept telling them to find another manager. The family was listening when I was having the conversations. It was a busy period for my phone.

“The good thing is that Lee and the president convinced me to stay. That’s special to be honest. It was not my decision really because I really enjoyed my time here, the circumstances were right here and I could concentrate on the part of the job I like, while others focused on other things.

“My wife eventually said ‘just do it’. They have not started on about a new contract for next year yet! But the flowers the fans raised for my wife (after she gave him the go-ahead to take it) says a lot about this club. They were really so enthusiastic that they all gave her money. It was after my decision to stay. It was a nice thing for them to do that.”

Advocaat is challenged with trying to avoid a repeat of three successive relegation fights Sunderland have been involved in. He is not setting wild targets.

He said: “What I would like now is for the people to recognise the way my team plays football. We have a system that people recognise. We try to play attacking football but if we have to defend we have to defend.

“I like to play attacking football with attacking full-backs but it is not always possible. I have seen things to suggest we can attack teams like Arsenal and Chelsea. We have to do that from the beginning.

“The president has said to me ‘make sure it is not quite as difficult as it has been for the last couple of years’. That will be great if that’s the case and that’s the most important thing. I don’t want to say we want to be this or that. We have to be positive, hopefully until the end.”

Sebastian Coates has arrived from Liverpool in a deal worth £2m and full-back Adam Matthews has joined from Celtic in a similar deal. The aim now is to add to those, with Advocaat asking for “three or four” more.

Belgium defender Nicolas Lombaerts is expected to be the next arrival after reports in Russia suggested Zenit St Petersburg were ready to do business over a £5m deal. There is also strong interest in Dinamo Kiev’s Jeremain Lens.

He said: “As long as a player has not signed then they are no player for Sunderland. Nobody has signed yet except for Coates or Matthews. It is still possible a player comes in before we go to America.”

He added: “It is not easy. Everyone abroad thinks that clubs in England have the money, that’s not always the case. I spoke to the owner now many times and he is really committed to the club and the fans.

“He would really like to do something but I am a manager who will not throw the money away. I want to find players who really want to play for this club as well. He wants this club to do better than the last couple of years and we will try.”