GUS POYET has called on his players to make the level of performance shown in the 0-0 draw against West Bromwich Albion the minimum they should be offering.

Following a 2-0 home reverse to QPR a fortnight ago, and a 2-0 FA Cup fifth round defeat at League One Bradford City, Sunderland stopped the rot with a bright display against Tony Pulis’ side, showing a marked improvement from previous games.

It could have been a victory for Poyet’s side had referee Mike Jones not ruled out an Adam Johnson effort for offside – when the winger was level – or had Jones sent off Joleon Lescott for a pull on Danny Graham when the former England defender was the last man.

And while the draw does very little for Sunderland’s attempts to avoid relegation to the Championship, Poyet feels that this should be the least his players serve up from now until the end of the season.

“This is a minimum we can offer, that’s something the players need to realise,” said the Uruguayan. “This should be the minimum. This is what we have to do every game. Not 60 minutes, but 90 minutes. If we play the same way every game we’ll win.

“It was a new way of playing. I thought the fans liked it and the players gave everything. It was a new way of thinking so I’m going to analyse it and look at it for the future.

“I think in the beginning of the game the idea was simple. Let’s not put ourselves into any kind of problem.

“Sometimes there are games that are written in history, it was a 0-0 all the way and we were destined to be the last match on Match of the Day.”

Poyet took the unusual step of writing an open letter to supporters last week, calling for positivity and patience after a run of difficult results turned the atmosphere sour on the terraces.

By and large, the reaction to Poyet’s letter was positive, with any boos at the Stadium of Light reserved solely for Jones’ refereeing and not Poyet’s tactics.

While the Sunderland head coach successfully proved he has the passion for the job last week, on Saturday he also reacted to the criticism that his teams were too slow in attack, made few forward passes and that his substitutions were always either negative or too late in the day to make an impact.

Poyet added: “In terms of defending we were outstanding, and we were higher up the park too. The partnership between John and Wes was back to its best,lots of experience there.

“We thought about the team, it was an experienced team on the pitch, I’m not saying old, but there were players who knew how to take responsibility on the pitch. We had men, that was the idea and I think it went well.

“The fans were terrific. It was the right time to give them the victory. I’m sure they will agree that we tried everything. I’m not sure how many crosses we put in, in another game it would have been a victory. It’s a shame.

“It was a good turnout, good pressure on the players. There were a few moments where I myself wanted to get in the box, I felt it. It was important for the team to have that connection back.”

Saturday’s stalemate keeps Sunderland two places from the drop zone, three points from 17th-placed Burnley, with a trip to Manchester United on Saturday, but Poyet is confident that a run of victories will change the complexion of Sunderland’s season.

“It’s going to be tight, there are so many teams involved at the bottom,” said Poyet. “We need to stay calm and keep believing and sooner or later it will change and we’ll win two or three in a row.”

Poyet revealed that Emanuele Giaccherini is to see a specialist after suffering what could be a recurrence of the ankle injury that kept him out of the side for most of the season.

“It doesn’t look good," said Poyet.

“We are reassessing, but (expect) a full update later this week. It is the same injury he had before. I don’t want to go further, but (it’s) not good. I hope the specialist opinion in the week is positive.”