Sunderland boss Dick Advocaat on a survival mission

Sunderland head coach Dick Advocaat is hoping to finally complete his survival mission by securing three points against Leicester on Saturday.

The 67-year-old Dutchman arrived on Wearside in March believing six or seven points from the remaining nine games of the campaign might be enough to keep his side in the Premier League.

However, Saturday's 2-0 win at Everton took his tally to 10 points from six games and the Black Cats are still not mathematically safe heading into this weekend's showdown with Nigel Pearson's in-form Leicester.

Advocaat, who has spent much of his managerial career competing for trophies, told SAFSee: "I would still prefer to play at the other side of the league because this is still a little bit frustrating in that we have to fight so hard to stay in.

We thought that with six points, we had enough, and now we have 10 points and we still need three points, so hopefully we can do that on Saturday.

"We thought that with six points, we had enough, and now we have 10 points and we still need three points, so hopefully we can do that on Saturday."

A win against Leicester would provide a successful conclusion to a second remarkable escape in as many seasons, and Advocaat admits he is at a loss to explain why the club has struggled in recent campaigns.

He said: "It's a great club with a great stadium, the facilities at the training ground are brilliant, so in that way you can see that this club deserves more than the bottom, where they have been the last four years."