DICK ADVOCAAT insists he is miles away from quitting his role as Sunderland’s head coach, but he would walk away from Wearside if he felt there was a better man for the job.

The Dutchman was an angry man on the south coast on Saturday when the Black Cats’ winless start to the Premier League season was extended to six games courtesy of a 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth.

During the summer Advocaat was persuaded to extend his stay at the Stadium of Light by a further 12 months and, as he prepares his team for the visit of Manchester City tonight in the Capital One Cup, he had hoped for greater progress by this stage.

If the poor form continues then he could have a rethink, but he is adamant he remains happy with his decision to stay in the North-East where he successfully helped Sunderland stay up during his initial nine-game spell.

He said: “At the end, if we don’t get the points, I know what the situation is, but the players need more time. I am still enjoying it very much so.

“We just need a little more. I have no regrets. Let's be clear, if I feel it is better for somebody else to take over then I will go. Believe me.”

Moments later Advocaat was asked how far he was from walking away from the role. He replied: “Very far.”

He added: “We did not have pre-season with some of the players. Now you can see they are climbing a little bit to the level needed but they still have to gel.

“The combination of players still has to be better. I will set up a bit differently against Manchester City. I would like to see what the players who play tomorrow do. I still have a good feeling about this squad. If we get 40 points I think that will be enough.

“Why am I confident? Because of what I see in training and during the games. Bournemouth are not better than Sunderland but Bournemouth are a team who have played together for a couple of years. That is the difference. I have no doubts there are better times ahead.”

Advocaat revealed he is not tempted to throw either Lee Cattermole or Seb Larsson back into action against City tonight because he has “tried” them and is keen to “try somebody else”. That does not mean, though, he will forget about them for the rest of the season.

He said: “I said to the players, it's not just about 11 players and that it is about 22. It is a long season and I said that to John O'Shea when I put him on the bench. After two or three games he was back in the side.

“You can play, sit on the bench or in the stands but at the end of the month you still get paid. That's the way it is. We will try to get the best out of the players and hopefully we can get the results soon. To do that they will need support.”

But what Advocaat, who has calmed down in the days since the defeat to Bournemouth, wants is for his players to prove they are worthy of being Premier League footballers and start to fulfil the potential he thinks they have as a group of men.

“I watched Saturday’s game back and you cannot say they don’t want to work,” said Advocaat. “We came back in to the game and we got the chances. We scored a goal and it was disallowed.

“And then there was the sending-off (of Younes Kaboul). The reality is that we have played six games and only have two points. We have to improve that.

“We are getting to the stage now where there are no excuses. We are going in the right direction. But I said before, it takes time to get players in to the right physical condition when they have trained at their previous clubs. We have the quality and there are no doubts about that. It is just a matter of when.”

Sunderland have agreed a deal with Leeds United which will see Will Buckley move to Elland Road on loan. The former Brighton and Hove Albion winger has signed until January 2, and is training with the Championship outfit ahead of the loan starting next week. Sheffield Wednesday, meanwhile, are interested in signing striker Danny Graham.

Sunderland: Mannone; Yedlin, Coates, O’Shea, Van Aanholt; M’Vila, Gomez; Lens, Toivonen, Borini; Defoe.