A DELIGHTED Chris Coleman has dedicated Sunderland’s victory over Fulham to everyone who has turned up throughout the year-long wait for a win at the Stadium of Light.

The Black Cats finally ended that hoodoo a day shy of going a full calendar year without winning in front of their own fans courtesy of Josh Maja’s 77th minute winner.

Maja, aged just 18, was thrown on as a substitute along with fellow teenager Joel Asoro five minutes before the winner in a bid to inject some freshness.

And it was a decision that proved worthwhile because Maja controlled Adam Matthew’s pass, turned his marker and then rolled a lovely finish inside the Fulham net.

The win lifted Sunderland out of the Championship’s bottom three ahead of next Saturday’s visit of struggling Birmingham.

Coleman, glad the 21-match winless run is over, said: “I am really happy for a lot of other people at the moment. We have been here a few weeks, we have inherited a lot, the people already here, and the supporters, they have been suffering throughout the year without a home win. I am really pleased for them.

“It’s a great feeling and they need to enjoy it because they deserve it. It’s nice to get rid of an unwanted record if you like. But from my view it is only three points. It’s a small win for us, a positive day but we are not getting carried away. We know what is ahead that’s for sure.

“I was impressed with Josh, he has come back from injury. I am sure Simon Grayson would have used him but he has been injured. He has been coming back. He had 90 minutes for the Under-23s and he has come back with us.

“I am impressed with him, like I am with four or five younger players. I thought that he and Joel Asoro could handle the situation so I put them on. They were different to what we have. They are an unknown quantity and they gave us an impact.

“It's three clean sheets in five games. It’s something to build on. We had to stop the rot and it’s come from the training ground to be fair to the lads.

"They have worked hard in training. It’s a good start, but there are so many more challenges ahead. It gets us out of that bottom three but there is still a lot to play for.”