SAVING the best until last moved Dick Advocaat to tears on his final appearance at the Stadium of Light.

Such a vibrant performance from Sunderland was not enough to give Advocaat an elusive first Premier League win of the season before his departure, but it was the kind of display he had wanted back in August.

Had it arrived a few weeks earlier the experienced Dutchman could well have stayed in the job.

Instead he is heading back to Holland to enjoy his retirement, just months after his heart ruled his head when he decided to commit to a further 12 months having kept Sunderland in the top-flight.

He has gradually realised over the last few weeks that this season would be a constant battle to beat the drop, which is not what he needs at the end of a hugely successful managerial career spanning more than 30 years.

Advocaat had expected half a dozen quality signings, but in reality only Yann M’Vila, Jeremain Lens and Fabio Borini (who wasn’t actually his preferred choice) ticked the boxes he was looking for.

His growing frustrations had been evident during his post-match interviews, regularly citing the differences between Sunderland’s investment in the squad compared to the sides they were coming up against.

And even after watching Sunderland go close to defeating a dangerous West Ham unit in his last game after a scintillating first half display, Advocaat said: “I was very surprised at the way we played – they played really well.”

Therein lies the explanation why he has gone. Ultimately he did not feel he could get the best out of the group of players he has at his disposal, and with comments like that he clearly had lost confidence in those pulling on the shirt.

That is not necessarily a reflection of the players’ commitment to the cause because whatever team Advocaat has fielded this season has worked to try to get a result; ultimately though they have not been good enough until Saturday.

The challenge facing Advocaat’s successor will be to try to ensure the opening 45 minutes against West Ham is not a flash in the pan, with West Brom on the horizon after the international break.

John O’Shea, not allowed to talk directly about the managerial situation, insists Sunderland didn’t just turn it on against the Hammers as a farewell gift for a head coach who has been well respected and liked during his seven months in the North-East.

"Not at all,” said O’Shea. “Look where we are in the league. It's for us and it's for the fans. It's for everybody, not just for one particular individual. We want to climb the table, because we don't want to be in that position.

“The manager spoke to us to make sure we knew how important this game was. I think you saw a performance, especially in that first half, that showed how important it was.”

Once Sunderland had settled a few nerves and raised fans’ hope in the tenth minute with Steven Fletcher’s opener, they resembled a team battling at the top end of the Premier League in the first half.

There was a touch of quality about the first. Fletcher, who was preferred to Jermain Defoe as the lone striker, cleverly moved away from James Tomkins before meeting M’Vila’s low free-kick from the left with a first time shot which powered beyond goalkeeper Adrian.

With Borini and Lens playing brilliantly down the flanks in both an attacking and defensive sense, West Ham’s full-backs encountered many problems and there had already been a couple more chances when the second arrived in the 22nd minute.

Lens’ presence caused Winston Reid in to an error deep in the West Ham half. The loose ball fell invitingly for M’Vila to roll a quick pass through for the Dutch winger and he applied the beautiful chip over Adrian which crossed the line after hitting the underside of the bar.

Advocaat had a tear in his eye. That sort of quality was what he had wanted all along.

After that a free-flowing move involving Ola Toivonen, M’Vila and Fletcher, which ended up with Borini firing inches wide, had fans drawing breath and smiling at the sudden burst in brilliance on show from the red and white shirts.

But then, just when a first win seemed on the cards, Carl Jenkinson stroked West Ham back in to it deep in to stoppage-time after meeting Victor Moses’ clever run and cross.

Sunderland started the second half brightly, but when Lens was rightly red carded for a stupidly wrapping both legs around Reid when he was already on a yellow proved costly.

Just three minutes later, on the hour, West Ham levelled when Costel Pantilimon badly misjudged Manuel Lanzini’s drive and Dimitri Payet, who could have been given offside, reacted first and struck the equaliser.

"There is quality in this squad,” said O’Shea. “But you have to maintain that level of consistency in the Premier League. Teams are well prepared every game.

“Every little detail is scrutinised, in terms of how teams are at the back, and how they're defending, where you'll get space and where you won't get space. You have to make sure you're on your game, every game – not just a one off.

"Wins take care of a lot of things. This showed you the quality of the Premier League. You have to make sure that you finish teams off. We wanted to make it hard for West Ham, we spoke about it beforehand, but we weren't able to blow them away as much as we wanted to.”

Even if Sunderland had won, Advocaat is likely to have left anyway. His mind had already been made up. Whoever replaces him will encounter the same problems and frustrations, but at least his final game in charge has provided a semblance of hope.