Advocaat satisfied after Sunderland end slump

Sunderland coach Dick Advocaat said he was unconcerned by the club's unflattering North American tour, which they finished with a victory.

A Jermain Defoe brace spared the Wearside outfit's blushes in a 2-1 win over Toronto, as Sunderland bounced back from friendly losses to Sacramento Republic and Pachuca.

Advocaat claimed his side had adequately built their base fitness on the tour, and would head back to the UK for a friendly with Doncaster Rovers - and to Germany to tackle Hannover - better for the runs.

"There won't be as many training sessions now and the power will come back," Advocaat told SAFC.com.

"That's why I reiterate that results aren't important at this stage, it's important we go back in good shape.

"The players have two days off now; after that you will see that they feel much better."

As in their previous two pre-season friendlies, Sunderland trailed - but Defoe capitalised on an inexperienced defence to fire home two goals four minutes apart.

"The two goals are important for Jermain," Advocaat said.

"It will be a good boost to his confidence, they were good goals and we've still got another two games to go before the season starts, so hopefully there'll be more to come."

Advocaat conceded Toronto's changes - coach Greg Vanney took off the experienced Justin Morrow and Brazilian Jackson for two Toronto FC II players at half-time - helped Sunderland get their footing in the fixture.

"It was a good win; the players gave everything to get a better result than the previous two games," the Dutchman said.

"We've had a 12-day pre-season camp with two training sessions every day and performances will improve when we don't train as often.

"We were much improved in the second half from the first."