He was the goalkeeper who only won his place in the side on the back of a teammate shipping an embarrassing eight , so when Costel Pantilimon conceded four goals inside 45 minutes he feared the worst – for himself and the club ’ s top-flight status . That was four weeks ago when Aston Villa ran riot at the Stadium of Light and Sunderland were booed from the field at half-time before thousands of fans streamed for the exits . Within 48 hours Gus Poyet had been sacked and Dick Advocaat was being installed . The Dutch boss celebrated his first home match with a 1-0 victory over Newcastle last weekend , a result which moved the Black Cats three points clear of the relegation zone ahead of this afternoon ’ s visit of Crystal Palace . Sunderland Goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon celebrates Jermain Defoe 's goal against Newcastle United . Pantilimon kept his place despite pressure from Vito Mannone - the man who was dropped in the wake of October ’ s 8-0 defeat at Southampton – and the Romanian stopper admits there has been a definite mood change under Advocaat . ‘ Before the new manager came , our confidence was not in a good way , ’ said the 28-year-old , who was a Premier League winner with Manchester City in 2012 and again last season . ‘ We were playing very badly , but now we have a new motivation . He ’ s brought the enjoyment back . ‘ I never expected to play in a game like the 4-0 loss at home to Aston Villa . I was upset . You start to think about what you did wrong . The former Manchester City goalkeeper celebrates with teammate Santiago Vergini at the Stadium of Light . ‘ We had to change something . It wasn ’ t easy . I thought about relegation after the Villa game . ‘ I was asking myself , “ What is happening ? ” . We couldn ’ t win games at home . Away from home we were taking points , but in front of our fans we were failing . 'It was strange and very frustrating . I didn ’ t know what we could do to be better. ’ The answer , it appears , was Advocaat . ‘ He has tried to bring us together as a group , ’ explained Pantilimon , who has so far avoided one of Advocaat ’ s infamous fines for a lack of punctuality . ‘ We all eat lunch together as a team . That should be normal . It ’ s a good idea , it creates a stronger group . It means we get to know each other better and other people ’ s situations . Pantilimon rolls the ball out to a defender as Sunderland beat Newcastle at the Stadium of Light . ‘ On the pitch , he wants us to be aggressive all the time , but also keep the ball a lot more . ‘ Before the derby he reminded us that not many people have the opportunity to play in a game like this . I think these words said everything , the motivation was at 100 per cent . ‘ The atmosphere last week reminded me a lot of how it was after City won the league ( in 2012 ) . ‘ It was incredible . My wife and my parents were there and they loved the game. ’ Both of Pantilimon ’ s parents are deaf and the keeper uses sign language to communicate . Indeed , it was some advice from his father which set him on his way to a career between the posts . The Romanian shot-stopper celebrates a Sunderland win with his team-mates against Newcastle . ‘ I was a striker when I started playing as a child because I liked scoring goals , ’ said 6ft 8ins Pantilimon , who was raised in Bacau at the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains . ‘ My father told me it was better to go in goal . He said I had the physical attributes to play there . ‘ But I was not always so tall . I had a period between 14 and 16 when I grew so fast . ‘ Thankfully , I didn ’ t like basketball so much . When I was about 15 I realised I could be a professional goalkeeper . Sunderland manager Dick Advocaat enjoyed his first victory as manager in the derby game with Newcastle . ‘ I was only 16 when I made my debut for a professional club . It was a third division club , but it was young to make my debut at that level . ‘ I was always confident I could be a goalkeeper . I thought I could get right to the top , I ’ ve worked hard to be here and I don ’ t want to stop , I want to get better and better. ’ Under Advocaat , things are certainly looking up , for Pantilimon and Sunderland .
Costel Pantilimon believes the good times have returned to the club . He believes manager Dick Advocaat has helped improve atmosphere . Sunderland have been buoyed by their win over neighbours Newcastle . Defoe 's winner secured Advocaat his first victory as Black Cats boss .