DICK ADVOCAAT believes that if he was in control of Sunderland’s transfer budget, he would do things differently.

Sunderland’s activity in the transfer market has been hampered by Financial Fair Play rules, with 67 per cent of the Black Cats’ turnover going on wages.

It has made progress on Wearside slow, and Advocaat, who repeated the call for three new players to improve his squad, feels that with the £5.1bn television deal coming into effect next season, he would treat the transfer market differently.

“If you bring in the right managers and the right people, and I think they are now here, and you trust them, and you have some resources to do something, knowing, and I wasn’t intending to say that but I will say that because I don’t care, knowing what will come in the next three years, I would do it differently, let’s say that way,” said Advocaat.

“(The transfer market is) as hard as they want. I am not happy at all.

“I had a good excuse on Friday, that we had to first concentrate on Swansea. Then now it is on Exeter, and then Aston Villa.

“Every day it is a different story.”

Jonathan De Guzman has been linked with a move to Wearside from Napoli, with the Italians hinting that the club have agreed a deal for the midfielder. But Advocaat’s patience with the situation is clearly wearing thin.

The Dutchman made a point of writing a note to himself before yesterday’s press conference which took place ahead of tonight’s Capital One Cup second round fixture at home to Exeter City, which read simply: “lach niet” – “do not laugh”.

Advocaat did not want to be seen to be laughing when he feels that Sunderland are in a serious situation.

His grim demeanour can be read as a message to chairman Ellis Short, while Advocaat was full of praise for sporting director Lee Congerton for the work done so far in the market.

“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. We really appreciate that but we need more,” said Advocaat.

Advocaat will not risk many changes to tonight’s squad from the side that drew 1-1 with Swansea City, and has admitted that being successful in both league and cup is a tall order for a club like Sunderland.

When asked if his current squad could survive in the league and have a run in the cup, Advocaat replied: “Do I have to give an answer on that? I think it will be very difficult.

“The Premier League is still the most important thing. If you get a bigger squad, it is easier to do well in the cup. We don’t want to change the line-up now because hopefully they can get a little bit used to each other so everyone knows what to do. That is the only way to improve. It is better to play games than train. This is a good opportunity to show what we can do in the future.

“Last year we were lucky to stay up, with a lot of commitment and energy. Everyone was in the right shape and it made them better than they are. We talked to them that they were better than they are. They did really well so for me, you will never get a bad word about that squad.”

Advocaat aims to include Lynden Gooch, Josh Robson, Max Stryjek and Duncan Watmore on the bench tonight, while Jeremain Lens (knee) and Billy Jones (face) both miss out. But he fully intends on selecting as settled a back four as possible, as he feels there is still massive room for improvement in the defensive department.

“If you see a team like Swansea, the way they operate, it is natural,” explained the former Rangers and AZ Alkmaar boss. “Everyone knows if they have to go that way or that way.

“Even at this level, sometimes we have to tell them what to do. In my opinion, if you play at this level you have to know that. And that is the difference between Swansea and a team like Sunderland, with all respect.

“The last line has to improve. We put them together this morning and the co-operation on some set-pieces was very poor. Instead of watching the ball and the man, sometimes they were sleeping, and you don’t know why. We can only do better.

“The first two games were very bad. Last Saturday, we could see a team who were desperate to show they can do differently. Now the quality has to come.”