Sunderland midfielder Darron Gibson has praised the impact made by boss Chris Coleman following his arrival at the Stadium of Light.

Former Wales boss Coleman succeeded Simon Grayson as the Black Cats new manager last month and he has collected two wins from his opening five matches at the helm which has helped lift the club out of the relegation zone.

Last weekend’s 1-0 victory over Fulham was also Sunderland’s first win on home soil in over a year and Republic of Ireland international Gibson has put their mini-revival down to the impact of Coleman.

“The lads are working hard in training every day and since the new manager has come in he has changed the shape,” Gibson told safc.com.

“It seems to be working, he has got us working hard for each other and it seems to be paying off.”

Gibson was particularly impressed by Coleman’s decision to turn to youth during the triumph over Fulham, as one of the youngsters he introduced, Josh Maja, came off the bench to score the winning goal.

“The manager was brave with substitutions, he went for it at 0-0,” Gibson added.

“The lads who came on did very well and obviously (Josh) Maja got his goal which is great for him.”

Sunderland could make it back-to-back wins for the first time since August when they take on fellow strugglers Birmingham on home soil this weekend.

The Black Cats are priced 1.95 to secure all three points from the contest, while Blues are available at 3.80 and the draw is on offer at 3.40.