LEE JOHNSON celebrated his one-year anniversary as Sunderland manager in style as his players thrashed Morecambe 5-0 to claim their joint-biggest win of the season.

Johnson marked 12 months in the Stadium of Light hot-seat on Sunday, and while his side were unable to serve up a victory at the weekend as they drew with Oxford United, they turned on the style last night to climb to third in the League One table, just two points behind leaders Rotherham United.

Nathan Broadhead scored twice as Sunderland proved much too good for Morecambe, with Ross Stewart, Alex Pritchard and Leon Dajaku also finding the target.

Johnson had a run-in with an irate supporter as the Black Cats were frustrated on Saturday, but three days later, and it was a much more celebratory mood inside the Stadium of Light.

“It’s always good to celebrate an anniversary, especially with a win,” said the Sunderland boss. “I’m very happy. We continue our trajectory, and that’s us unbeaten in five now. You’re always looking for that two points a game average to get somewhere where you want to be, and we’re on track for that.

“It was a tough game going into it because the pressure was on, but we performed extremely well. They gave us a couple of warning signs in the first half, but we felt like we could exploit their backline with the quality we've got.

“First half, I thought we could have extended our lead a bit more. In the second half, it was a case of nothing silly, but we waited for the opportunities to open up and we scored some really good goals.”

Johnson reserved special praise for Broadhead, with the Everton loanee scoring a goal in each half to take his tally in a Sunderland shirt to five.

The 23-year-old had to be patient as he found himself on the fringe of things in the early weeks of the season, but since forcing his way into the first team a month or so ago, he has showcased his goalscoring capabilities to impressive effect.

“He’s a good player,” said Johnson. “He can drive at people and he’s quite flexible in his positioning. He’s a really good finisher, which you saw at Cambridge away and today for his two goals.

“He’s tactically bright as well, and we’re very happy to have him. We’re pleased that Everton have entrusted us with his development. As I said before, it was embarrassing that he wasn’t in the starting XI, but he’s there now and he’s getting a good run.”

On a filthy night weather-wise, Johnson was delighted to have rewarded the fans who braved the elements to attend the Stadium of Light.

“Right from the start, you could feel the vibe,” he said. “It was really positive from the start. We started well and it carried on from there. It was such a cold night and obviously a few less fans than normal because of the weather. I’m really pleased for the fans that turned up, we gave them a five-star show.”