Poyet Pleased For His Players After City Win.

Former Manchester United full-back Phil Bardsley put manager Gus Poyet in a good mood after his 21st minute strike won the game against Manchester City on Sunday.

City must be sick of coming to the Stadium of Light and losing 1-0 but Poyet won’t worry too much about that as his defender shrugged off the attentions of James Milner to bat Costel Pantilimon with a curling effort.

It was a goal worthy of winning any game and although City had a lion’s share of the ball after the goal, they could not find a way past a resilient defence.

During the press conference after the game, Poyet was asked if that was the biggest victory of his managerial career to date, he said: ‘Yes, probably.

‘I know that for the fans, for the club, for the history, it’s always more important to beat the biggest rivals without any doubt. That’s when you have to win.

‘But in terms of opposition, quality, world-class players, this is the biggest of my career, so it’s going to be a good evening without any doubt.

‘I don’t know how my heart is right now. I don’t want to check it just in case it’s bad news, but it’s going to be a great evening.

‘I am so pleased for the players. They need to believe. It’s easy to talk – we can say things and you can write. But at the end of the day, it’s the players on the pitch who need to be convinced that this new way of playing football and defending is working, which is great for the future.

‘So let’s see if we can keep this going. It’s a good time to go into the international break.’

Sunderland remain three points adrift of safety, but having won their last three home games, two of them in the league, things look much better for the Black Cats.