Lee Johnson reacts to Lincoln City win and has this Sunderland vow

That Black Cats had gone into the contest eight points adrift of Michael Appleton's side, but secured Johnson's first league win with a vibrant attacking display.

Sunderland had survived a couple of early scares as the hosts caught them out on the break, but Johnson said that is an inevitability as they transition to a new style.

The Head Coach believes the quality of the attacking play gives his players the confidence that the new approach will yield results.

"Listen, we ain't going to [try and] draw any games in this division,"Johnson said.

"I tell you that now.

"There's no way in a million years I'll go into any game to draw. And we were lucky today, they had two one-on-ones in the first ten minutes.

"We have to risk that with the high press, but knowing we can score four should give the boys that feeling that if we do make that mistake, which we will at times because I'm asking to them to be so on the front foot, then we can go and bang in three or four.

"That's the standard," he added.

"In terms of the standards both on and off the pitch, that was a very important win.

"It allows the players to believe and the fans to believe.

"The bit I'm so impressed with to be honest is just how well the lads have understood the protocol.

"We've fired in a lot of detail and terminology but to be fair to them, they have really taken it in.

"I thought both the compactness in and out of possession really gave us the positional strength to go and break down what is a very good side."

Johnson wants to add one or two players to his squad in the January transfer window, but insists he has a better squad at his disposal than many have assumed.

"We've got good players," he said.

"People haven't fancied us but I've seen the boys at close hand now and I'm like, we've got better players than we get credit for.

"We've got to create a bit of a cause in that sense, to make sure that as a fanbase and as a staff, that we create that cause. We are Sunderland, we are a scalp and so we need that extra bit of grit and determination.

“It’s just a feeling I get, that people probably haven’t appreciated what’s here," he added.

"I’ve spoken to people in football over the last week and they’ve said, ‘Good job – but you need a lot there’. I’ve been saying, ‘No, I don’t think we need as much as everybody is thinking’.

"We could do with a couple of attributes, but we’ve got some good players.

"We’ve got some players to come back from injury, and we’ve got some solid cohesion out of a good game today. Listen, we haven’t done anything.

"We’ve just performed very well against a very good side, and all that should do is breed belief in the philosophy and also confidence in individuals."

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