Dick Advocaat suffered a dispiriting start to his reign at Sunderland as Diafra Sakho’s late strike gave West Ham a 1-0 win over the Premier League strugglers on Sunday.

Former PSV Eindhoven and Rangers boss Advocaat, who had been out of work since the end of his brief spell as Serbia coach in November, accepted the onerous task of preserving Sunderland’s top-flight status earlier this week following the dismissal of Gus Poyet.

Poyet had been axed following a woeful 4-0 home defeat against Aston Villa last weekend and Advocaat’s presence on the bench induced a more cohesive and determined display from Sunderland.

They still finished empty-handed however as Senegal striker Sakho netted with two minutes remaining at Upton Park.

Sakho’s goal leaves Sunderland, who have gone eight games without a win and have only scored once in their last seven, hovering one place and one point above the relegation zone with eight games left.

West Ham’s first win in eight matches should temporarily ease the pressure on manager Sam Allardyce.

Advocaat had sent out an adventurous starting line-up featuring three strikers and two of his front men almost combined to give the Dutchman the perfect start in the seventh minute.

Jermain Defoe was pushed wide but he still managed to cross towards Connor Wickham and the forward’s volley was well saved by West Ham goalkeeper Adrian.

Defoe should have opened the scoring when he sprinted onto Steven Fletcher’s flick behind the West Ham defence, yet with only Adrian to beat the former Hammers star volleyed tamely wide.

West Ham midfielder Alex Song tried his luck from 30 yards and his stinging drive forced Costel Pantilimon into action with a save low to his right.

Wickham curled wide from long-range and Jack Rodwell couldn’t get the finishing touch to a John O’Shea header as Sunderland pressed early in the second half.

Those misses almost came back to haunt Advocaat’s side when Sakho glanced a header just wide from Aaron Cresswell’s cross, while Kevin Nolan had a strong penalty appeal turned down following a pull from Santiago Vergini.

In a bid to unlock the West Ham defence, Advocaat sent on Adam Johnson for the final 17 minutes.

It was the England international’s first appearance since he was bailed following his arrest on suspicion of sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl.

He returned to training this week following a club suspension and was greeted with boos and taunts from the West Ham fans.

Patrick van Aanholt brought a fine stop from Adrian in the closing stages, but it was West Ham who stole the points in the 88th minute.

Mark Noble won a header on the edge of the area and Nene turned the ball into the path of Sakho, who drove a fine strike into the bottom corner to leave Advocaat with plenty of work to do.