AFTER witnessing Sunderland’s biggest win for more than a year, Chris Coleman beamed with pride at Pride Park before then challenging his players to follow it up by keeping Championship football on Wearside.

Coleman, his players and backroom staff walked over to the 1,900 passionate and vocal band of travelling supporters to celebrate with them and to say ‘thank you’ after the final whistle had blown on a fantastic 4-1 victory.

It lifted Sunderland off the foot of the table and ended a ten-match winless run that had put the Black Cats on course for League One next season.

While there is still a three point gap to make up to safety, Coleman is pinning hopes on such a display and result on Good Friday being repeated in the final seven matches to keep Sunderland up – starting with Bank Holiday Monday’s visit of Sheffield Wednesday.

Coleman said: “It was a classic Good Friday, a superb performance. The position we are in, and we looked at those results on the afternoon, and at one point there was an eight point gap when Barnsley were winning.

"Derby are a good team but now the gap is down to three points. The performance was very important because of where we had been in last nine or ten games. We have not hit enough heights consistently, I was delighted.

“We have not won back to back games all season, big challenge on Monday and a big opportunity. We have given ourselves a chance, we are still three points behind, whoever is fit, physically ready, the team will be different, they have to show a bit of heart.

“It has to be back to back wins, I am not putting extra pressure on us. We can see what it is. We get carried away some times with talent, but it is amazing sometimes what you can with steel, courage, resilience.

"You need a sprinkling of talent but a bit of attitude, if we get that right and then maybe Monday will be a good day for us."

Sunderland held a 2-1 lead at the break courtesy of George Honeyman’s deflected opener and Ashley Fletcher’s first goal for the club, even though Matej Vydra pulled one back with a few minutes remaining of the half.

But Sunderland found extra strength after the restart to pile more misery on play-off contenders Derby, who have now gone eight matches without a win despite sitting in a top six spot.

Aiden McGeady’s penalty was followed by John O’Shea’s fourth goal for the club with 13 minutes remaining and then there was no way back for the Rams, whose fans had left in huge numbers.

Now Coleman knows that he has to get the mentality right at the Stadium of Light on Monday, where another win would breathe serious life into the fight for survival.

He hopes to have Ovie Ejaria available after suffering a back problem, while Joel Asoro is rated 50-50 because a doctor has to assess him following concussion.

Coleman said: “We need those fans with us and it was nice for us to given them something back tonight because there’s been plenty times where we haven’t this season.

“Now we look to Monday. We have been playing, especially at home, with fear at home. We have to get over that. It’s nobody else’s problem but our own. It’s about us getting ourselves right at home.

“You look at our team, the spine has to be right and the spine was right tonight. We could play off Ashley Fletcher and it was the best game he has had for us. He was there tonight, reliable. He could have had a hat-trick.

“I was going to start with Fletcher. We lost Ovie yesterday with a problem with his back. I had two different teams in mind. I was always going to play him though.

“I was pleased for Ashley, he hasn’t ducked it. I really like that. He is a young boy, who has had one year at Barnsley. But he has a super attitude. Great response for Ashley Fletcher.”