Sunderland 1 Everton 0: The players can smile now, says Paolo Di Canio

Paolo Di Canio hailed a job well done after watching his Sunderland side continue their revival under the Italian’s stewardship with a battling victory over Everton.

Stephane Sessegnon made the breakthrough for the Black Cats on the stroke of half-time when he poked his finish home as Di Canio marked his first match at the Stadium of Light with a win.

The victory hoists Sunderland up into 14th place in the Premier League table and onto 37 points with four games left to play.

But the Italian, whose side secured an impressive 3-0 win at Newcastle last weekend, insists his side are not yet safe from the drop.

“We did a good job,” said Di Canio. “The lads have done an amazing job in the last few weeks and this is the result.

“I was a footballer at many clubs and it isn’t easy when there’s a change. The players can smile now.

“But 37 points is not enough. If Wigan win their game in hand they’ll be on 34 with four games to go. Today was a step forward but the main job is not done.”

Sunderland travel to Aston Villa in their next Premier League game on 29 April.

Meanwhile, Everton boss David Moyes conceded that his side’s hopes of Champions League qualification are now all but over.

“We could have had a point quite easily but we didn’t create enough clear opportunities,” he said.

“We probably didn’t deserve to lose the game but we didn’t play well enough to win it. It was a poor game. I don’t think now we can make the Champions League.”