Sunday 3 January 2016 12:44, UK
Sam Allardyce could not hide his relief at Sunderland's first league win in six games against Aston Villa, but insists his side are still in trouble.
Jermain Defoe struck twice for the Black Cats at the Stadium of Light in the 3-1 victory, leaving them four points off safety while further leaving Villa firmly at the foot of the table.
Allardyce could feel the relief inside the stadium after Defoe's second in stoppage time, but warned fans there is a lot of work to do.
He told Sky Sports: "It's a great relief obviously. I think that it's such a long time since we felt the joy of winning. We're all relieved in the stadium.
"Everybody that came here today was so relieved and joyed when the third went in, until that went in we were never that comfortable.
"Hopefully it gives us a lot of confidence going forward. We're still very much in trouble, and there's still a long, long way to go, but it was vital to get a win in this fixture.
"Hopefully we can get better, we've got to try and play better each game, and pick up more and more results. We're still a long way off but the three points were very precious today."
Defoe now has six Premier League goals this season for Sunderland, who would be five points worse off without the striker's tally.
Allardyce praised the 33-year-old's impact, while admitting the game was far more about the result than the performance.
He said: "Thank God for Jermain Defoe and his finishing qualities, which is what you want in a game of football.
"It turned the game back in our favour, that relieved the pressure, then he got the third and could have even had a hat-trick.
"We got what we wanted, and it wasn't particularly about the performance today, it was about the result. Sometimes the performance was good, sometimes not so good, but in the end it's what we wanted."
