Robbin Ruiter on his 'healthy relationship' with Jason Steele and the small details making a big difference under Chris Coleman

The pair both arrived on Wearside in the summer, Ruiter joining as a free agent and Jason Steele for £500,000 from Blackburn Rovers following the departure of Jordan Pickford and Vito Mannone.

Ruiter has established himself as the No.1 choice under Chris Coleman, the Dutchman playing every game so far under the Welshman.

The former FC Utrecht stopper says his relationship with Steele is one of the "best" he has had in football with the pair fully supportive of each other.

Ruiter said: "It’s a healthy relationship to be honest. It’s one of the best I’ve had throughout my career; whoever plays, we support each other.

"We both want to get up the table with Sunderland as soon as possible.

"He’s a good guy and we laugh with each other, we had fun and work well together."

Steele has made 11 appearances this season, Ruiter 14 so far including every game under Coleman.

Coleman has had a positive impact on Sunderland since replacing Simon Grayson with victories over Burton Albion and Fulham and a point away at league leaders Wolves helping the Black Cats climb out of the relegation zone.

Ruiter says Coleman has been working hard on the shape and organisation of the team at the Academy of Light, with Sunderland much harder to beat in recent weeks with three cleans sheets out of five games under the Welshman.

Ruiter added: "Managers are different and have different styles, but you can’t say what is wrong or right. It’s just different.

"But one thing might fit a group of players better than something else. For me, the new gaffer has worked with our shape and the organisation of the team and I think that’s important. It’s important to have a good shape and communicate with each other.

"Small details are important to operate well, and he has a specific style of football he wants to play. He wants us to play football, it’s not just kick and rush.

"The more you train and work on it, the better you will play.

"It’s such a big and nice club, while the results haven’t been what we’d hoped for, it is still a very nice to play here. The last couple of games have been better and we want to build on that.

"We want to give the supporters something back because it’s been tough for them, over the last year," Ruiter told the club website.