Sunderland matchwinner Anthony Stokes is hopeful the goals will flow after his strike against Derby.

He said: "I'm delighted to break the duck and to get the result, which is the most important thing. I'm always positive when I go on. I don't think you are going to do well if you have the wrong attitude.

"I always try to focus if I'm on the bench on what impact I can make on the game and, even if I'm asked to play on the wing as I was, I always try to get into attacking positions around the box to see if I can sneak a goal.

"He (Stephen Bywater) did brilliantly to save my header because, when it came to me, I thought 'This is a tap in'. It was a great save to keep it out and I thought it was Fulham all over again where the keeper made a good save and it came to me and I should have scored.

"I won't make any excuses, it was a one-on-one and I should have scored, but every striker misses them. It's just important you forget about them.

"Confidence is obviously an important factor and when you're not scoring, everything seems to go against you. It's just important you try to make a positive impact when you get your chance."

As well as finally bagging his first Premier League goal, Stokes also hopes his deeds on the pitch will finally stop people talking about the time he missed the team bus shortly after signing for Sunderland. He added: "I didn't get the best of starts (to my Sunderland career). Not after the thing with missing the bus. But to be honest, the gaffer told me two days later that it was forgotten and over with.

"The thing is, I still keep reading about it and I'll probably still be reading about it when I'm 30. I have to accept that, but that's not my whole story. Hopefully, now people will start writing about me for all the right reasons."