Dick Advocaat has been plotting Sunderland ’ s survival mission for the past fortnight from him home in Holland . The new boss has revealed that he was waiting for the Black Cats to sack Gus Poyet and was surprised it did not happen sooner . Indeed , in the wake of Sunderland ’ s 4-0 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday there were reports that Advocaat was set to take over , despite this being some 48 hours before Poyet was dismissed . Reports in Holland suggest Dick Advocaat was surprised his predecessor Gus Poyet was not sacked sooner . Poyet was sacked after Sunderland were beaten 4-0 at the Stadium of Light by rivals Aston Villa . Advocaat said John O'Shea ( left ) will have to play despite not training in the week as the squad is small . The Dutchman said : ‘ I expected they would do it ( sack Poyet ) earlier , but they did n't . ‘ Poyet was a coach who is very self-focussed . They were looking for someone with experience , a guy who knows what it 's about . For this short time they did n't want to take the risk to get an inexperienced coach. ’ Advocaat will take charge of the team for the first time at West Ham tomorrow and , with his new club just one point above the Premier League drop zone , he has revealed his stark message to the players . ‘ As I said to the players , it ’ s quite simple . This is a big , big club – do you want to play in the other league ? ’ he said . ‘ With this club , this stadium , you can not play in the lower league . I think they realise how important it is . Midfield player Sebastian Larsson has also missed training but will be called upon by Advocaat . Advocaat believes Sunderland have a competitive squad when all of their players are fully fit . ‘ We have nine games to go and are still a point ahead , so we have everything in our own hands . ‘ Keeping this team in the league is the most important thing . ‘ There is enough quality in this squad to stay up . We have a difficult programme , as do the other teams , but it ’ s all up to us and I have a good feeling about it. ’ Meanwhile , it has been reported that Advocaat is open to the idea of staying at the club beyond the end of the season . However , it appears some of that was lost in translation from an interview in his homeland and Sportsmail understands he will return to Holland in May .
Dick Advocaat named Sunderland manager until the end of the season . - The Dutch national team won their first ever World Cup in a 2-0 win over England at Wembley Stadium on June 11, 1974.