Sunderland coach Charlie Oatway has admitted that Stoke City put his side under tremendous pressure during their 1-0 win over the Potters on Wednesday evening.
Gus Poyet's deputy conceded that his players rode their luck at times during the match, but insisted they were determined to secure the win that would lift them out of the bottom three.
"We were under no illusions that they would have spells where they would put us under pressure, but we held out for the majority of it. We knew they would throw everything at us, and men had to be men," BBC Sport quotes him as saying.
"We played a little bit into their hands - we did not look after the ball as well as we did in the first 25 minutes - but there was so much pressure for us to get out of the relegation zone that we desperate to hold out."
"Thankfully we got the points and hopefully long may it continue that we keep to pick up more points."
Adam Johnson's eighth goal of the season secured maximum points for the Black Cats.
Mark Langshaw
