DICK ADVOCAAT will not risk making wholesale changes to his Sunderland squad ahead of their Capital One Cup second round tie at home to Exeter City.

The Black Cats welcome the Grecians to the Stadium of Light on Tuesday night on the back of a morale-boosting 1-1 draw against Swansea City in the Premier League, and the head coach believes he saw a reaction from his much-maligned squad over the weekend.

“With the players, definitely. I can see it. In training as well,” said the Dutchman, who will not risk Jeremain Lens for tomorrow’s game, while Billy Jones misses out with a facial injury. “That is the reason there is no real need to change the team much against Exeter. If you get a win against a difficult side, only winning gives you confidence. I will not make many changes.”

Sunderland have been linked with a move for Jonathan De Guzman today, with Napoli understood to have agreed a deal with the Black Cats, while Bournemouth remain interested in the midfielder.

While Advocaat would not be drawn on the links with the former Swansea loanee, he praised Lee Congerton for his work in the transfer market up to now.

“Now we have the right people who can judge better on players and Lee Congerton is doing a great job, with little money, what he has done so far,” said Advocaat on the club’s sporting director. “We really appreciate that but we need more.

“There is no need to discuss players. Let’s wait until the moment comes that I can speak about whether some players are coming.”