Paul McShane is hopeful Sunderland's season has now been kickstarted after victory over Derby County on Saturday.

He said: "It's good we have got three points, but the hard work starts now.

"Let's not get carried away with ourselves - we have gone up a few places, but it is tight down there and we have just got to keep going.

"It's a big win. We have gone up a lot of positions in the league table and it is a big win, there's no denying that.

"It's brilliant to see us up there - but it's a long old season and we have just got to keep going.

"It was a tough week after the 7-1 thrashing against Everton. We needed three points or we would have been disappointed. It wasn't a great performance from either team - it was a bit of a poor game to watch.

"But we kept in there and won the game in the last minute. We don't give up."