Niall Quinn is hopeful that Sunderland's derby-day win over Newcastle United will see manager Dick Advocaat offered the job on a long-term basis.
Jermain Defoe's thunderous volley on the stroke of half time was enough to seal the bragging rights for the Black Cats in Advocaat's second game in charge.
The Dutchman signed a short-term contract after replacing Gus Poyet last month, but former player and club chairman Quinn has urged owner Ellis Short to keep the 67-year-old beyond the summer.
"The next man in is the most important now," he told Sky Sports News. "Sunderland have been hanging on as a football club over the last few years and whoever it is has to be given a project to create something other than this yo-yo club. I hope it is Dick Advocaat because he doesn't have to talk his way through everything, with the experience he has. He's been there and done it.
"He doesn't have to make himself known to the world like the last two managers did. Advocaat just goes in there and does it and he seems to have got that level of desire and passion in there already.
"Ellis Short would kill me for saying this, but if he adds his tactical nous and keeps this team up then I would be breaking the bank to make sure he stays and give him a different type of tenure than the previous guys. He could be the man to make a three-to-five-year plan out of it."
Advocaat's first game at the helm came in a 1-0 defeat at West Ham United, with Diafra Sakho netting an 88th-minute winner.
Shane Callaghan
