Steven Fletcher has been buoyed by Dick Advocaat 's early influence at Sunderland . Advocaat was drafted in to help the Black Cats avoid relegation after Gus Poyet 's sacking and , despite losing his only game so far , at West Ham , Scotland striker Fletcher is upbeat about the run-in . The club lie just a point and a place above the bottom three with eight matches to go , but Advocaat has already made an impact . Dick Advocaat 's early influence has been hailed by Sunderland striker Steven Fletcher . Fletcher ( right ) says it 's been 'really lively ' at Sunderland since the Dutchman came in . 'It 's been really lively since the new coach has come in ; he 's a lively character and he 's brought that into the training sessions , ' Fletcher told safc.com . 'He wants us all to give 100 per cent and believes we 've got the quality to turn our fortunes around and push up the league . 'He wants us to play a lot more compact and push forward as a unit , and I think we did that in the last game because we won balls back and created chances . We 've got to remain upbeat and stick to the task at hand . ' Advocaat has been brought in to save Sunderland from relegation after Gus Poyet ( pictured ) was sacked . Despite their struggles at the helm , both Poyet and his predecessor Paolo Di Canio enjoyed early success against Tyne-Wear rivals Newcastle , and Advocaat has his own opportunity after the international break . 'There 's no better game to turn things around in than the derby , ' added Fletcher . 'It 's a great first home game for the new coach , so we 're all looking forward to it . '
Dick Advocaat has been buoyed by influence of Steven Fletcher . Advocaat took over at Sunderland following Gus Poyet sacking . Black Cats lost first game under the Dutchman 1-0 at West Ham .