"We got our just reward and this is certainly a much nicer feeling than losing a game," said the Black Cats boss.
"There may have been a bit of good fortune about the winning goal but I am not bothered. It is about time that we had some good luck.
"In a strange way there is no pressure on us because of the position we are in and I told the players that before the game.
"We are looking up the table and I want to start making the people ahead of us nervous. If we can get two wins on the spin then who knows what can happen? "Perhaps we can still get ourselves into the scrap above us. I don't know.
"But full credit to the players for keeping going. I have a great bunch here and I think people can see I haven't 'lost' the players.
"They are a good group who have been hit around the head a few times this season but they keep coming back."