DAVID MOYES thinks Lamine Kone is starting to show the sort of form that helped keep Sunderland up last season – and wants the Ivorian to maintain his standards even if he could be faced with a big decision in January.

Kone and Papy Djilobodji were at the heart of the Black Cats’ third win in four matches on Saturday when they combined to keep Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy and Islam Slimani at bay at the Stadium of Light.

It is the kind of defensive shape and stability Sunderland have been desperate for following Djilobodji’s £8m summer arrival and disappointing start to life in the North-East.

However, Moyes feels the two are really starting to gel after spending a huge amount of time with them in a bid to develop an understanding of how to play with each other.

The Sunderland boss, who brought back Djilobodji after suspension, said “Look, we are putting an awful lot of work into Lamine and Papy and they will not thank me for having them out in the afternoon as much as I have done. I think Lamine has got a lot of quality and his positional play has got better. They have both improved.

“Quite often we have had double sessions with them, this week we asked the defenders to be out there and not the strikers.

“Even though they (Kone-O’Shea) had done well at Liverpool, this was going to be different with Vardy running in behind us. He was going to be a threat. Riyad Mahrez’s ability was a threat, Slimani was a threat. They were going to cause us problems.”

Kone remains one of the likeliest contenders to be sold next month because Moyes needs to be creative in the transfer market as he does not have much money to spend.

Selling a player or two – which he has regularly suggested he is not averse to - would strengthen his own arm, with Kone and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford the two most saleable assets.

Moyes insists, though, Kone has his mind back on Sunderland after a summer when he looked set to sign for Everton, who remain keen on him along with West Ham and Southampton.

“It was when he signed the new contract (when he focused back on Sunderland),” said Moyes. “I just don’t think his performances were up to the same standard everybody told me they had been last season.

“We need him because if we are going to have any chance [of staying up] we need our centre-halves to play well, all of them are going to be needed.”

Even at Liverpool a week earlier Sunderland looked like a team comfortable with what the manager had asked the players to do and there is definitely more cohesion in their approach to matches.

Moyes said “People going away from the game might not have known who the champions were last season. I think Sunderland played well, the standard of football was good. Did we lack a bit of quality at decisive moments? Yes, but we know that.

“When we were asked to defend we did it. We had good energy, in the first 20 minutes especially and we have players who look like they can score goals.”

Sunderland, who had failed to win any of their opening nine matches, are sitting just a point from safety. He said: “Things didn’t feel good. We weren’t winning games, I thought we were a little bit unlucky in a couple of them, we could have picked up a point in games, West Ham, 2-0 up at Crystal Palace. If we had that, we would be out of bottom three ...

"We’ve got to try to make sure we keep the level of our performances up. We’ve always got a chance if we can defend well. Big Sam (Allardyce) said it. You have to keep clean sheets. I feel the same because we have got players who can score goals.

"I said to them I think that is the best you have played, especially the first 20 to 30 minutes. I felt we dropped off a bit and we were starting to let them control the game, but I think Victor Anichebe did a couple of things in the second half that turned it back to us. We dropped the tempo a bit.”

Sunderland’s victory over Leicester did come at a cost. Duncan Watmore suffered a knee injury after a challenge from Christian Fuchs near the touchline in the second half. He had to be stretchered off.

Moyes said: “We’ll get it checked as soon as we can but it doesn’t look too good.”