Former Sunderland captain Gary Bennett believes Dick Advocaat is the right manager for the club because “he knows what the fans want and what the club wants”.

The Manchester-born 53-year-old is a legend on Wearside having made 369 league appearances for the club in an 11-year spell between summer 1984 and 1995 when he departed to join Carlisle United.

Bennett is now a radio pundit and commentates on Sunderland so he knows first hand what makes the players and the club’s fans tick.

And he is in no doubt that 67-year-old Dutch tactician Advocaat has already won over the vast majority of the Black Cats’ faithful following a successful nine-game spell in charge at the end of last season when he guided them to Premier League safety.

Advocaat initially snubbed the club’s plea for him to stay on as manager in the summer before performing a U-turn and Bennett is looking forward to seeing where he can take them next season.

He told the Sunderland website: “I think he’s bought into the club.

You could see from his reaction at the end of the Arsenal game [when Premier League safety was guaranteed] how involved and how emotional he was.”

He added: “He knows what the fans want and he knows what the club wants.

“After that Arsenal game, you could see how the players reacted and you could see the team spirit as well.”

Sunderland, who are 2.75 to be relegated next season, can be backed at 3.75 to win their Premier League opener at Leicester on Saturday August 8. The Foxes are the 2.05 favourites and the draw is on offer at 3.20.