Sunderland head coach Dick Advocaat has revealed that he had been speaking to the club for some time before his appointment and had expected his predecessor Gus Poyet to be sacked sooner than he was.

Poyet lost his job at the Stadium of Light on Monday, with former Netherlands coach Advocaat taking charge the following day.

The 67-year-old, who will remain at the Stadium of Light until the end of the season, takes over with Sunderland one point outside of the Premier League's relegation zone.

"I expected they would [sack Poyet] earlier, but they didn't," Advocaat told NOS.

"They were looking for someone with experience, a guy who knows what it's about. For this short time they didn't want to take the risk to get an inexperienced coach.

"What do I have to lose? Nothing. I'm happy to do it. But the salaries I'm reading everywhere are nonsense. The financial aspect was not important for me at all. Normally I'll be here just for two months."

Advocaat's first game in charge will be at West Ham United on Saturday.